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THE 



VITAL FORCES IN NATURE 



AND TM 



RIGHTS OF M.AJST. 



BY 



V 
GEORGE B, SIMPSON. 
>\ 



i i • 



There is a divinity within the human soul that moves Man onward id 
noble deeds ; it inspires with hope, and bids him live. 





WASHINGTON f 
PRINTED BY E. A. WATERS, 

1862. 



«s? 



v° 



r ^> 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1862^ 

By GEORGE B. SIMPSON, 

in the Clerk's office of the District Court of the District 

of Columbia* 



TO THE PUBLIC. 



In submitting these writings to the people* the author need hoi 
remind them that the subject is not continuously connected* 
They are the outcropings of a great system* embracing science* 
philosophy, and divinity. 

Without means, without friends, without books, the author set 
out upon the uncertain sea of research— of investigation, resolved 
to learn by practical observation that which was written in the 
great Book of Nature* whose God-imprinted pages were every 
where spread out before him. 

From effects he reasoned to "causes ; from causes he reasoned 
to prior causes, and thence onward still to prior causes-, and thus 
onward through the .great Arcana of Nature up to God. 

He first discovered Within himself a power, motive in its cha- 
racter, and obedient to his will. He then discovered that this 
motive power was the servant of his wilt, which will was also the 
immediate agent of himself — reason. He next sought the office 
of Reason. In this he found his interior Being \ the divinely in- 
stituted Man % not unlike an Umpire, ordering judgment on im^ 
pressions impelled through the senses to the sensorium- of the 
brain, where He sits, instate, and receives all ideas, thoughts 
and impressions, good and bad-, analyzing and estimating each 
according to its intrinsic merit, upon which examination judg- 
ment is rendered and the decree passed over to will for execution. 
The positive now acts on the negative — the greater mind-, which 
is located in the Cerebrums now acts on the lesser mind, which is 
located in the Oerebelum, which action is simply an effort or emo- 
tion of the will, putting into locomotion all the parts of his physi- 
cal system, thus performing the acts which his reason dictates. 

Having now discovered the vital forces of his own BEING -^the 
process of learning, and the faculty of choosing between good 
and comparative evil, he looked out upon the great Book-« 
Nature's own. Here he saw impressed upon the surface of 



IV. 

things the type of an internal reality ; this reality was the vital 
force which impelled the development of the external Form ; and 
in these external forms he discovered the concentrated germ of 
reproduction ; thus onward ad infinitum. 

He saw, again, not by his occult vision, but by his Reason, 
that the world of forms and substances with which he himself is 
connected and of which he constitutes a part, is now in process of 
refining, and that no form can descend below its own development, 
but that it must, by virtue of the law giving it vitality, ascend in 
the scale and order of creation. 

Thus he found that all forms are in a transition state; that old 
forms are incessantly passing out of existence, while the world is 
as incessantly being re-peopled with new and living forms, each re- 
fining and concentrating a part of itself for the purpose of repro- 
ducing its "Kind," and at the same time sustaining the higher 
organisms which, in their order, have been unfolded through simi- 
lar forms. 

Thus it will appear that the only substances, things, or Beings 
ever created were forms ; and that all old forms are passing 
away, and new forms are constantly taking their place ; hence it 
is, that creation is as effectually going on to day as it was six 
thousand years ago, or even six hundred thousand years ago. 

Thus it will be seen that this subject embraces in its compre- 
hensive scope all causes, all effects, and all subjects which can be 
contemplated by the human mind. And, in treating of the laws 
or developing forces alike inherent in each atom and each world, 
it is apparent that one atom cannot exist without the pre-exist- 
ence of other atoms, and that one world cannot exist without the 
pre-existence of other worlds, and that each are alike the tangible 
form of an interior force which, on analysis, is found to revert 
from effect to cause, and from cause to prior cause, and thus on- 
ward through ascending causes up to God : u The great First 
Cause." Thus it will appear that an atom is created by the con- 
centration of particles of eternal matter having an associative at- 
tractive affinity for each other ; and that a world is created by the 
concentration of atoms having an associative attractive affinity for 
each other ; and that a solar system is created by the concentra- 
tion of worlds having an associative attractive affinity for each 



% 

other; and that a Universe is created, by the concentration o£ 
solar systems having an associative attractive affinity for each 
other ; and that oceans upon oceans of. universes are created by 
the concentration of universes having an associative attractive 
affinity for each other ; and that the whole vast " UNIVER- 
SCELUM" of matter is created by the concentration of particles, 
atoms, worlds, systems, universes, and oceans upon oceans of uni* 
verses having an associative attractive affinity for each other ; and 
that all this vast congregation of forms of denae and rare propor* 
tions, is but an expression of the Divine Will of that Infinite 
Intelligence and rightly exalted Supreme Omnipotence — 
GOD, 

In this development we find that the gradually unfolding form 
is but the tangible evidence to our senses of an interior cause or 
vital force, the life-inspiring principle of matter, which, in its of- 
fice, is simply refining, arranging, elevating, and individualizing 
eternal matter, which individuality eventuates in Man, whose in* 
terior Being is denominated spirit, which spirit is in the precise 
" image" of its Creator, and in the order of eternal progression /s 
refined, purified, and sublimated while conditioned in the flesh, 
and, when separated from the body, proceeds to a higher and a 
far more exalted state of Being, thus onward through ascending 
conditions up to God. 

In this order of forms and things we find that the gross cannot 
be made more gross, but that the gross may be refined ; and that, 
according to the laws of eternal progression it must continue to re- 
fine, however slowly and imperceptably to our senses, even though 
it be not demonstrable to our senses, yet, in the course of the in- 
finitude of years it will be found to have advanced — progressed, 
and thence onward through the endless ages .'of Eternal Time. 

From these deductions we learn that matter is indestructable y 
that its divisibility is infinite, that in reverting from one form to 
another it finally reverts to positive motion, the vital force inhe- 
rent in all matter. 

From the indestructability of matter it of necessity follows that 
nothing dies, that there is no such effect in nature as death, and 
that, when the interior or real reality of every form separates 
from the external, or, to our senses, tangible form, the external 



VI. 

immediately falls into decomposition by the chemical action of the 
vital forces inherent in it, and by the action of the same forces 
the particles heretofore composing that form are carried into other 
new and living forms, thus onward through an endless series of 
ascending forms up to God ; while the interior essence or real 
reality of the same form, at separation, by virtue of the vital 
forces inherent in it, immediately ascend to higher and more ex- 
alted spheres, peculiarly adapted to its continued progressive de- 
velopment, thus onward through ascending spheres up to God. 

From these deductions it will be perceived that the whole for- 
mula of nature and creation is composition, decomposition, and re- 
composition. How simple, and yet how complex. For, unless 
we keep constantly in view the fact that all forms contain within 
themselves the type of the God-head, or the type of mind, mat- 
ter, and motion ; in other words, and more especially when ap- 
plied to gross forms, positive vital force, negative vital force, and 
matter ; in other words, positive magnetism, negative magnetism, 
and matter ; in other words, positive electricity, negative electri- 
tricity, and matter ; and that these three forces are (for, when 
forms and substances are sufficiently divided they at once become 
active, living force,) in essence One force, One vital principle, 
One mind; One Supreme Intelligence, thus unfolding the 
Trinity or Type of the God-head in each and every form ; and, 
as the negative is evolved from the positive, so is matter, the third 
element evolved from the negative, thus establishing the dual 
character of the organic Law, its attracting and repelling motions, 
evolving matter the third element in all forms as the result of its 
motions, in the order of concentric circles, by the concentration 
of its own essence into particles and atoms, which are then called 
matter because tangible to our senses, which particles are then 
transferred by the action of positive and negative organic forces 
upon them, attracting and repelling each as the positive or nega- 
tive may inhere in them, thus creating forms by the association of 
particles and atoms having an attractive affinity for each other, 
every atom of which form being composed of the essence of the 
vital forces inherent in it, which form, when thus created, evolves 
another interior form, similarly constituted, individual in its cha- 
racter, and is known by the appellations of Instinct, Intellect. 



VII. 

Mind, Reason, Spirit, thus becoming an entity — a trinity of vital 
forces, a type of the Eternal God-head, which spiritual entity is 
of and unto Him, and whose eternality is in Eh express 
"Image." 

Thus was and is the creation of Man, who was and is evolved 
by laws fixed and immutable as God. 

And thus were all things made that are made ; and thus was 
the Beginning ; for God spake and it stood fast ; " the word 
was God." 

With this brief preface, the undersigned proposes to submit 
these writings to the people, not, of course, as conclusive proof of 
the theory herein set forth, but as approaching nearer the truth 
than the heretofore established theories extant in the world. , 

And further, he does not submit them as a continuous and 
elaborated argument, but simply as the juttings or outcropings 
of a great system of ideas, thoughts, causes, and ultimates — the 
result of a penetrating analytic and synthetic research. 

If, in these efforts he shall have elicited a new truth, or at 
least new to him and the world, and shall have elucidated others, 
he will be more than compensated for the many years of patient 
and laborious toil he has devoted to these inquiries. 

Without desiring to provoke criticism or controversy, he most 
respectfully solicits for these brief writings a candid hearing, a 
careful examination, and if it shall be found that the basis on 
which this theory rests is erroneous, he will be among the first to 
discard it, as his 3ole object is the development of truth, 

Washington, D. C, August 1, 1862. 



9 



HOME, NEAR BALLSTON SPA, 

Saratoga County, New York, August 2d, 1848, 

Dear Sir : I regret exceedingly the necessity of addressing 
you this note, but the importance I attach to the communication 
left with you for publication some five weeks since renders it ac- 
tually necessary. 

I care nothing about its publication, but wish to preserve a 
copy, and the reason of my not copying it was simply this, if you 
saw fit to publish it, I would retain a printed copy, if not, I 
would preserve the original. 

I have no doubt you think it lost, but it must have been mislaid, 
perhaps in some drawer among your papers, and it may have 
been taken (by mistake) into the publishing office and laid away 
there. Suffice it to say, if you will (or can) find it and return it 
to me, I will pay you any reasonable sum you may demand for 
your trouble. 

I esteem it of vast importance to me, and sincerely hope you 
may be fortunate enough to find it. 

Your obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 
To T. G. Young, Esq., Editor, fyc. 



HOME, NEAR BALLSTON SPA, 

Saratoga County, New York, Sept. 5th 1848, 

Dear Sir : Although I have forgiven you I cannot forget the 
loss of my communication. 

The communication, considered as such, is of no account what- 
ever. But this one contained the hey to a new order of things. 
It opened the way and laid the foundation for the triumphant 
march of the mind of man to that high and exalted station design- 
ed by his Creator. It struck at the base of all error by bringing 
man forth according to fixed and unalterable law, breathing 
through his nostrils u the breath of life," and receiving through 
his senses the spirit and impress of Deity, when he was declared 
perfect and received the benediction of his Maker. 

Then, having been brought forth according to law, which law 
constituted him a free (?) moral agent and held him amenable to 
its ordinances, he was then placed under another law of rewards 
and punishments. This it is for which I grieve* 

It was the result of fifteen years hard study and investigation; 



10 

and had I been worth fifteen thousand dollars and some* one had 
told me I had lost the whole of it, it would not have produced a 
severer shock than when informed by you of the loss of my com- 
munication. 

It is truth and the application of its principles to the utility of 
man which I am in quest of, and having wrought out what I con- 
sidered the true theory of mans creation and reduced it to a 
simple problem, I ventured to lay it before the world. Judge of 
my surprise when informed of its loss. Nor can I give it up. And 
can only repeat my former promise that, if you will return it to 
me, I will give you any reasonable sum of money you may demand 
for your trouble. 

This letter is not dictated in any spirit of anger but grief. As 
I am about to leave home, you will confer a lasting favor should 
you find the lost paper by returning it through the Post Office. 
With great respect, your obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 
To T. G. Young, Esq., Editor, £c, 

Ballston Spa, N. Y. 



CAUSE AND CURE OF CHOLERA. 

Reading, Pa., May, 1850. 

Dear Sir: As the season is fast approaching when the uni- 
versally dreaded disease, "Cholera," is expected again to make 
its appearance in our midst, visiting alike all classes of the com- 
munity, everwhelming the timid with fear, infusing death into the 
stoutest hearts, and spreading desolation in its wake; it may not 
be amiss to throw out some hints as to its probable cause and effect. 
From personal observation and investigation, I have determined 
it to be a nervous disease, operating directly on and through the 
sympathetic nerves. These nerves are the agents or conductors 
of animal heat, which is the cause of all sensation — the vitality of 
life ; and they (the sympathetic nerves,) exist in every part of the 
physical organization. By some cause, the animal heat is thrown 
off, or extracted from the nervous system, when the sympathetic 
nerves become inactive, refusing to perform their natural func- 
tions. The thirty-two distinct sets of muscular nerves now lose 
their equilibrium, and being under the full force of muscular ac- 
tion, contract, without having the corresponding force to expand. 
This disorganizes the entire system, and an almost instantaneous 
prostration of the man must inevitably follow. 

The animal heat being thrown off, one portion of the principal 
system becomes inactive, while the other remains m fu^ 7 force; 



II 

whence, indigestion, relaxation of the abdominal organs, purging, 
and coldness of the extremities, are its never-failing symptoms. 

No matter which of these four symptoms appear first, they are 
all produced by the same cause, namely, the extraction of the 
animal heat — the vitality of life — the functionary power of the 
sympathetic nerves. Thus we infer the physical structure to be 
under the control of two forces analogous to each other, a positive 
and a negative; and in all "cholera" subjects, the positive being 
arrested and the negative remaining in full force, an unnatural, 
spasmodic convulsion must be the unavoidable result. In evi- 
dence of this hypothesis, witness the convulsions, spasms, purg- 
ing, vomiting, and COLDNESS of the person, which not unfre- 
<quently equalizes the human body to the natural coldness of inani- 
mate matter around it before life is extinct! Proving conclusive- 
ly, in my opinion, the absence of all animal heat, and the conse- 
quent inaction of the sympathetic nerves, while the negative 
power is in full force, convulsing the system through the medium 
•of the muscular nerves. Restore the animal heat, and you 
balance the corresponding forces, when the sympathetic nerves 
immediately resume their proper functions, hold in check the un- 
restrained power of the negative force, calming and quieting the 
muscular nerves, and tranquilizing the whole nervous system. 

Without giving a physiological dissertation on the human sys- 
tem, I have ventured the above suggestions as the result of my 
experience. 

Very respectfully, 

VERASTUS. 
To the Editor of the Gazette Sr Democrat. 



Harrisburg, Pa. r June, 27, 1850. 

Dear Sir : On the eighth of this month your valuable Journal 
contained a commnnication from me on the "Cause and Cure of 
Cholera." The object of that communication was to assign a cause 
for that terrible disease, and suggest a probable remedy. That 
remedy, I am happy to inform you, has been discovered and suc- 
cessfully applied. Permit me to make an extract ; it is taken 
from yesterday's Baltimore Sun, and is as follows : 

"New Cholera Cure. — Dr. Macrae, in the Hospital at How- 
rah, has, according to the Indian News, discovered a new and 
most successful mode of treating Cholera patients. He causes 
them to inhale a certain quantity of oxygen gas, which contri- 
butes a strong stimulating effect, and finally throws the patient 
into a refreshing sleep. On awakening, he finds himself restored 
to health, with the exception of a general weakness which always 



12 

ttCCceis every physical prostration. Dr. Macrae had tested his 
mode of practice upon fifteen European seamen, who had been 
carried to the Howrah hospital in the last stages of the disease, 
and the patient has in every instance recovered." 

In my opinion, the above mode of treatment is the only effec- 
tual remedy ever applied to the disease ; for if my theory be true, 
"the animal heat is thrown off, or extracted from the physical 
system," and there must be something to s'upply its place, or it is 
evident that the patient cannot recover. 

The inhalation of oxygen gas seems to infuse itself into the 
sympathetic nerves, occupying the office made vacant by the ex- 
traction of the animal heat, sustaining the equilibrium of the two 
forces, and inducing the return of the positive force, or animal 
heat. How simple, and yet how effective. That there should be 
a certain, sure remedy for this terrible disease is perfectly natu- 
ral, and that it is the inhalation of oxygen gas appears more pro- 
bable than any other remedy ever before known. If this cure be 
a legitimate one, (and I firmly believe it is,) three years will not 
elapse before the Cholera will be classed among the standard dis- 
eases of the Country, known, and curable at will ; and carrying 
with it no more dread and terror than the "chills and fever," or 
"a slight cold." 

With great respect, 

Your obedient servant, 

VERASTUS. 
J. Lawrence Getz, Editor Gazette 8f Democrat. 



(Another Communication from "Vehasttts" upon the Cholera question, 
has been received; but as we do not think a continuance of the controversy- 
would be productive of any benefit to our readers, we beg respectfully to de- 
cline its publication. ) 

Harrisbtrg Pa., July 15, 1850. 

Dear Sir : On .the receipt of your valuable Journal this morn- 
ing, I was agreeably surprised to find that my communications on 
the "Cause and cure of Cholera" have attracted the attention of 
the "Medical Faculty." 

Without any pretension to learning, science, or medicine, I 
offered those communications as the result of my "experience and 
investigation," believing, as I now most firmly do, that their 
theory rests on an immoveable basis and will stand the test of the 
most rigid criticism. The dash your learned correspondent made 
at that theory most effectually tore the mask from his own pro- 
fession, and exposed to the gaze of enlightened minds, and in 
all its naked deformity, a ghastly "skeleton 1 of incomprehensible 



q 



proportions, mystified by a tissue of physiological subtleties and 
technicalities, and proped up and supported by the "PRACTICE" 
of the Faculty from time immemorial. He whose mind is chained 
to books, is as effectually a slave as he whose hands are chained 
to labor. By attempting to combat a theory which he could not 
comprehend, your correspondent very modestly offers his services 
to "VERASTUS," as instructor of his "ignorance," and refers 
him to "authors" for information, who know not themselves the 
"cause' of the subject on which they treat. Permit me here to 
make an extract from an AMERICAN author, with whom, no 
doubt, your correspondent is quite as familiar as myself, and with 
whom we both agree. 

"That fluid which exists in the sympathetic nerves, and 
which is the grand agent of transmitting all sensations to the 
brain, by means of the brain's magnetic power, is ANIMAL 
HEAT; and that fluid which moves the muscular nerves, 
through the exercise of the will, is ANIMAL ELECTRICITY." 
Animal heot exists in the body: it is a subtle, sensitive fluid, 
and is confined to the sympathetic nerves, and extends through 
the whole animal economy. It exists only in animal bodies. 
The vital functions are performed by this fluid; every invol- 
untary secretion is made by it; every involuntary action of 
the system is carried on and propelled by animal heat. All 
impressions made upon the body are by this fluid unavoid- 
ably and irresistibly carried to the sensorium of the brain, 
through the attractive power of that organ ; and every mus- 
cular action, as before stated, is performed through the exer- 
cise of the will, and by the aid of animal electricity. These are 
the agents of all voluntary and involuntary motions in the animal 
frame." 

We have in this quotation the true theory of animate ex- 
istence, which is governed by two laws or forces analogous to* 
each other, and which are, in a modified form, the primitive or- 
ganic laws of all matter whether animate or inanimate. Now, 
your correspondent stigmatizes the idea of the inhalation of oxygens 
gas and its consequent infusion into the sympathetic nerves, and 
in the very next breath declares the fact by the vaguest of all 
vague terms — "absorbed by the blood /" and gives the most con- 
vincing proof of its practicability and the truth of my theory. 
He says, " the same gass is inhaled by the lungs and absorbed 
by the blood." What is the blood ? By what power is it forced 
through its avenues ? This is the only medium by which an ul- 
terior agent could be infused into the sympathetic nerves — " its 
inhalation by the lungs and absorption by the blood I" Here is 
the office made vacant by the extraction of the animal heat held 
in durance by the temporary occupancy of the oxygen gass ? 



14 

which exercises a corresponding influence over the negative or 
muscular force, inducing an immediate return of the positive force, 
or animal heat. This accomplished and the patient is restored 
to health. 

As your correspondent has voluntarily proffered instruction in 
the science of medicine and physiology, I would respectfully ask 
him a few simple questions for information. Man has five external 
senses, (and one internal*) Has he more than one mind ? If a 
oone be broken,, will it grow together again 'I And why ? If an 
Sncission be made in the fleshy will it heal again? Why? By 
giving a philosophical answer to the above questions he Will im- 
part information to one whose " glory's tarnished," and whose 
" occupation's gone, "(according to *' Veridicus.*') 

With great respect, 

Your obedient servant* 

VERASTUS. 
To J. Lawrence Getz-, Esq., 

Editor Gazette and Democrat, Reading, Pa" 

This letter was returned by request- — not published. 

GEOKGE B. SIMPSOX. 



Cincinnati^ Ohio, $Tay \Qkk, 1851. 

Highly esteemed friend : Sot only in accordance with my 
promise but inclination, I resume my pen to perform what is to 
me a pleasure, though fear I may fail to interest .you. 

Should my scribbling prove dull and incipid> or melancholy and 
sombre, attribute it to an overfon&ness for pensive reverie, or 
deep, lonely, silent thought. 

Partly from habit, mostly from natural desire, I have acquired 
a taste, a passion for this species of meditation. It has often 
carried me beyond the bounds of propriety, and made me appear 
sedate, melancholy, cold, and passionless ; but the reverse is the 

case* 

Generous* ardent, frank, and free, 

1 live to love, and love to live for thee : 

My Mother. 

Pardon me, my noble friend, for introducing this sacred name 
into this epistle, but as I know you love and reverence your 
mother-, so also, I love and reverence my mother ; and an allu- 
sion to that name above ,all others in this world the most sacred, 
the name we both love to cherish, honor, and esteem, — is our 
Mother ; (God bless them,) and is therefore always pardonable. 

My trip from Harrisburg to Hollidaysburg was pleasant, though 
the air was exceedingly chilly. I remained at Hollidaysburg five 



15 

days, but no business opportunity offered itself for my acceptance, 

It is a beautiful place, situated in one of the most lovely rural 
districts in Pennsylvania. 

On the south is a high hill bearing the name of "Chimney Rock," 
(it should be called Monument Rock,) from the fact that from its 
summit shoot up two monumental columns to the height of about 
sixty feet from their base, with an extended breastwork eastward 
of about forty feet high, thence sloping gradually to the waters of 
the "blue Juniatta." The "Burg" is situated in a basin, sur- 
rounded by elevated hills of about fifteen miles circuit. But, like 
most other towns in Pennsylvania, it is perfectly destitute of 
energy, public spirit, and, I almost said, individual enterprise, and 
the dirtiest place I ever saw. 

On leaving Hollidaysburg, two ladies and two children were 
put into my especial charge to this city ; my accustomed galantry 
would not allow me to decline the fa ir charge, however exception- 
able the appendages might be. I helped the ladies in and out of 
the car, the carriage, and the boat ; looked after their baggage^ 
ordered the servants, and nursed their babies. 

Methinks I hear you exclaim, how enviable! However, they 
were truly ladies, with whom I was much pleased, and, on arriving 
here, they tendered me their profound acknowledgments, with 
many thanks and the best of wishes. This more than paid me for 
any little trouble or inconvenience they may have put me to, and 
with characteristic frankness I remarked, "not at all ladies-^yott 
are under no obligations to me, if, by these courtesies- and atten- 
tion I have been of service to you while unprotected by any im- 
mediate gentleman friend, 1 am doubly -paid in knowing that I 
have performed but a small fart of the great duty I OWE MY 
MOTHER." All ladies, everywhere, when unprotected by gen- 
tlemen friends, have a right, and should demand the services of 
any gentleman who may be travelling in the same direction. 

We parted with widely different feelings from those with which 
we met. Our trip over the mountains to Pittsburg, and even 
down the river to this city, was pleasant so far as society is con- 
cerned ; but the weather was most disagreeable. The forrests in 
this vicinity were generally green, and the fruit trees in blossom ; 
but the air was chill and piercing \ and on the nights of the first 
and second of this month, frosts were sufficiently severe to kill 
nearly all the fruit. South, the corn,- tobaeco, and cotton crops 
are much injured. I succeeded in taking a violent cold, and tne - 
chills have been playing up and down my back with a perfect 
"looseness," irrespective of the threatnings of internal heat. Yes- 
terday the weather began to soften and to day it is mild and 
balmy. The buddings of the Alanthus and other tender trees are 
T totally killed,, and will have to regerminate or "loose the best of 



16 

their time.'' Great improvements have been made in tbis city 
since I was here, with a great many valuable and important im- 
provements now going on. This is the "Queen city of the West" 
may she win a crown of imperishable glory. 

"The American Association for the advancement of Science" 
commenced its sessions in this city on Monday morning last, and 
closed its labors last evening; and, as you might naturally expect, 
your humble servant was a constant attendant. 

I forwarded you a paper containing a vindication of Mitchell's 
genius and attainments, sanctioned by the highest scientific au- 
thority of America. The only applause manifested during the 
session was given while that paper was being read; a compliment 
richly merited and patiently won. 

Much information of interest and importance to the general 
community was elicited, many hypothesises advanced, and new 
theories discussed. Geology occupied a large share of the time to 
the detriment of other sciences of quite as much importance. 

Professor Peirce, of Harvard, advanced a new theory in regard 
to Saturn's Ring, which Professor Mitchell characterized as "bold 
and startling." He argued, that a solid could not be maintained 
c-ither by the Primary or its satillites; that if the Ring be a solid 
it must oscillate, and its irregularities would bring it in contact 
with the primary, which would break it in pieces, the fragments 
form themselves into secondary planets and revolve in their res- 
pective spheres. From an analytical investigation he had ascer- 
tained the Ring to be fluid, of about the heft of water, every par- 
ticle of which, however small, was a globe or planet of itself, held 
to and associated with the great mass by attraction, the whole flow- 
ing in streams or currents, in number from one to twenty, around 
the primary, constantly changing, and held in its position by the 
secondaries ! 

Truly, this is "hold and startling ;" for if it be fluid, held in 
its orbit by the attractive force of the satillites, there is no reason 
why that force should not attract those particles or currents to those 
planets, and thus destroy the Ring altogether, associating with and 
becoming component parts of those vast bodies. 

But, in my very humble opinion, the Ring is neither solid nor 

FLUID, but AIREFORM, or ELECTRICAL. 

I shall assume the latter. The weight of the primary is esti- 
mated at that of cork or light wood, with an extreme rarified at- 
mosphere, sustaining immense heat. This heat is reflected back 
from the surface of the planet to an immense distance, ivhere the 
atmospheric gasses become nearly separated and pure, forming 
above them an electrical belt or zone encircling the planet, which, 
in form, volume, change of currents, and color, bear a strong re- 
semblance to our light " arora borealis" This, in my very humble 



n 

opinion, is the only theory on which the Rings of 8aturri can he 
permanently based. 

The same theory holds good in regard to all the other planets^ 
especially the earth. The Sun being heat, or magnetism, becomes 
positive and attractive ; the Earth being cold, or electrical, becomes 
negative and repulsive; hence, We have the two laws of primitive 
order, organic in their strucrure, and infinite in their application. 
All suns or fixed stars are positive ; all planets' or opaque bodies 
are negative, revolving around the suns, and the secondaries re- 
volving around the larger planets by their borrowed heat from Xht 
primary suns. 

To illustrate i the earth is many times larger than the moon, 
reflecting the heat of the sun ; while the moon absorbs the sun's 
heat, it is attracted by the earthy and revolves in its orbit around 
that planet. 

Methinks I see you teat this paper and hear you exclaim,- 
€t Dam" (this is Grace Greenwood's swearing) the fool ! Very 
well ; if it is too lengthy, too prosy, too incipid, or too assum- 
ing to meet your approbation and offensive to your good taste 
and superior judgment* please hand it over to my friend, Mrs. 
Joanna W. Hale ; at any rate, permit ber to read it. I know 
of nothing that would be of greater general interest to you, and if 
this should chance to meet your approbation, it will afford me 
much pleasure on a future occasion, to throw out some crude ideas 
that have suggested themselves to my mind in regard to the geo- 
logical features and magnetic influences of the earth's structure. 

Receive my best regards. Remember me most respectfully to 
Mrs. Hale, Miss Joanna, Grand-mother RameseVj Miss Cally, 
Miss Lena,< the girls, Rarnett, and especially your brother* and 
the members of your engineer corps. Adieu ; write soon. 

With high regard, your friend and obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 
To Samuel L. Morton, Esq., Engineei^ £c. f Harrisburg, Pa. 



Independence, Missouri, June 9, i&5i. 
To the Editors of the Occidental Messenger : 

Gentlemen : There appeared in the last number of your joBf* 
nal an article originally published in the North British Review? 
headed « THE DOOM OF THE WORLD." The author no 
doubt attempted to work on the fears and superstitions of the un- 
learned, that he might the more easily coerce them into a belief of 
his theory. He speaks of the internal fires of our own planet, the 
fragments of other planets wheeling their destructive elements at 
the solar surface, an influence, a subtle fluid, that is gradually 



18 

destroying the equilibrium of the gravitating forces, which must, 
some day, work the certain "doom of the world. 11 

Were it possible to conceive of a theory as utterly at variance 
with the true laws and principles of nature, as the one here put 
forth, we should certainly despair of an object for creation. Deity 
unquestionably had an object in the creation, that object we con- 
ceive to have been the production of a Bein& who should glorify 
his creator, and to bring about this designed result, chaotic matter 
was placed under law, A positive and negative organic law pro- 
ceeded directly from Deity, and all other natural laws are but 
modifications of these two. 

All matter throughout the boundless universe of God, is subject 
to an immutable law of change ; this change is but the process of 
creation, which is as effectually going on to-day as it was six 
thousand years ago. The positive organic law of creation inheres 
in the suns, the negative in the planets, hence the revolution of 
the latter around the former. 

Now, can a planet come in contact with another planet, a planet 
with a sun, or a comet with either, without one of the organic 
laws being first destroyed ? Impossible I Then, destroy either 
organic law> and not only all worlds, but systems and universes 
throughout infinity of space become a general wreck, enveloped 
in one universal conflagration — all matter reverting directly into 
its primitive chaotic state. If this be the case, what object in 
creation ? Has it been attained ? We might enlarge, but pause 
for an answer. Respectfully, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



HOME HEAl BALLSTON SPA, 
Saratoga County, New York, October 19, 1853. 

[Continuation of my Journal.] 

Here, m the room where my mother died, familiar scenes, and 
things, and voices, bring vividly to mind the long lost past, and 
that most familiar of all voices, my mother's, rings sweetly in my 
ear — "forgiven/ 1 

■ " My boy, the future is full of hope; life blooms with fresh 
vigor, and in thy honest poverty thou art rich in noble thoughts 
and generous sympathies, and the opening future will unfold to 
thee new beauties, fresh and blooming from the Edenic gardens 
of universal truth." 

Thus she said, or seemed to say, and the spirit vanished. 



t& 

BALLSTON SPA, Saratoga County, N. Y., October SO, 185:,. 

(fo Mrs. Se ma nth a Mettler : 

Madam : I have this moment read of your Wonderful powers of 
fDsychometry, in the delineation of individual character by placing 
a piece of the person's writing On your forehea^ and that " thi$ 
is now a part of your profession." 

This information I obtained from the " Shekinah," arid my ob- 
ject is to obtain a delineation of the author's (of this note) char- 
acter, and its adaptation to the affairs of life; 

Name the amount of pay for your services, and I will forward 
it by return mail. 

Yery respectfully,- your obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



, . . H A RTFORD, Conn . ,< November 3, 1 80S . 

PSYCHOMETRICAL PORTRAIT [ 
OF Mr. GEORGE B. SIMPSON, f 

This is a person who possesses a Strong active mind. He is 
ever searching into the depths of things, endeavoring to' under- 
stand the hidden laws that govern not only his own nature, but all 
things that have an existence. "Light, more light," seems to' be 
his constant desire. His perceptive powers are quick and active? 
and his ideas are of a refined and elevated character, with much 
originality. Is always comparing and bringing up in his mind 
the analysis of things in general, and when he sees an effect, al- 
ways desires to ascertain the cause. He is benevolent and uni- 
versal in his feelings. It would be impossible for him to be an 
exclusive being at heart, if by profession. He venerates the good 
and true whenever found. He possesses a mind capable of de- 
fending himself. In contending for what he deems to be true, he 
would do it in a manner that would carry strong conviction. He 
loves that which is beautiful in nature or art. Has energy enough 
to acquire that which would add to his own comfort as well as 
others. He is polite and mannerly ; has much suavity of manner j 
is attractive, and I should think Would be likely to gain many- 
friends and admirers. He is cautious in all business matters ;• 
exercises good judgment in whatever he is called upon to do. I 
should think him quite a student of nature ; would love to repose\ 
He has strong concentration j can speak or write forcibly. I 
should think he was very fond of his parents and his childhood's 
home ; at times loves quietude, though I should think he would be 
likely to tear himself away from home for the purpose of seeing 
and knowing something of the world at large. To a child of his 
own he would be very affectionate and loving ; might be somewhat 
inclined to idolize it. He is very fond of the society of ladies) 



20 

would bo likely to make himself very agreeable in their presence. 
He has strong social affections ; seems to be a person that can 
conform to almost any condition of life and be content. He is very 
orderly and punctual ; is accurate in calculating ; is exceedingly 
found of music, and delighted with everything that would tend to 
harmonize and elevate the character; the moral and intellectual 
faculties predominate, and the sphere is very agreeable/' 

The above is the original letter by and from Mrs. Semantha 
Mettler, wife of Dr. J. R. Mettler, of No. 8 College street, Hart- 
ford, Connecticut, and is, if I am any judge of myself, true to na- 
t are ; and is inserted here as a curiosity, 

I never saw either of these persons, and the only evidence they 
have of me is my letter to Mrs. Mettler soliciting an analysis of 
my " character and its adaptation to the affairs of life." 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



NOVEMBER 19, 1853. 

I discoursed to them on the sciences, the process of creation, 
the laws that govern matter, and the immaterialty (?) of things. 

I hold that there is no such law or influence as gravitation ; but 
attraction, and repulsion, and the sphere of motion. 



DECEMBER 2-3, 1853. 

This was an argument with a Presbyterian minister from Ten- 
nessee, covering seven pages of my diary, most of which is em- 
bodied in my letter published in the Western Dispatch, in 1854, 
under the title, "Is IT so Y* And was republished in the National 
Intelligencer, of Washington, D. C, in 1857, and is again re- 
published in this series. 

DECEMBER 5, 1853. 
I suggested to him the great idea of the age, namely, the re- 
duction of law, government, association, science, theology, and 
philosophy to the system of a sphere, 

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, January 1, 1854. 

E. D. Mansfield, Esq. : 

Dear Sir: In your valuable Railroad Record of the 22d of 
December ultimo, I observe a notice taken from the London Times, 
of a motion claimed to be perpetual I 

It will be no news to you, sir, when I assure you that that mo- 
tion is yet a mystery. 

Though some of the most valuable machines that now adorn the 
mechanic arts are the results of labored efforts to discover that 



21 

hidden power, it still defies all research, slumbering securely in 
the deep infinitude of compound organic law. 

Machines have been constructed which have moved themselves 
from one locality to another, indicating an inherent force to over- 
come atmospheric pressure and 'propel inert matter, but friction, 
incident to all mechanical movement, lessens the motive power ac- 
cording to the decay of material, both of which must cease. This, 
however, should not retard research, for a perpetual motion ex- 
ists, and that which exists in nature may he produced in art. 
Very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



[For the Western Dispatch.] 

IS IT SO? 

Mr* Editor : If there was no Cause, there could be no Effect ; 
therefore, inasmuch as the latter is, the former must have been, 
consequently, all effects revert immediately to a First Cause, from 
which we infer Matter to have existed with Deity, Nature and 
Revelation to have existed in harmony with each other, both in 
harmony and existent with Deity himself. Deity is a trinity of 
essences — Truth, Love, and Wisdom ; from whom all truth, all 
love, and all intelligence emanate ; and all existences, material or 
immaterial, are but the expressions of His will. Hence the object 
of Creation, which we conceive to have been a result that should 
glorify Himself. He is represented by the inspired penman to 
have reasoned with himself, saying : " Let us make man in our 
own image," &c. If this be true, then Man was the object of 
creation, or a material essence so highly refined as to be capable 
of uniting with or individualizing spiritual essence, possessing, in 
degree, all the attributes of Deity, in conjunction with the appe- 
tites of a material organization. This material essence we find in 
the mind of man, and as all internal impressions must come from 
the external universe, it is reasonable to suppose that the five ex- 
ternal senses were the medium through which was conveyed to the 
mind of man his spirituality, which is "in the precise image of his 
creator." And since it was the design, the object is accomplished 
in the production of a Material Immaterial Being, possessing all 
the attributes, in degree, of material and immaterial essence ; hence 
it is the perfection of matter and the individuality of spirit. Mind, 
then, is the highest state of refinement to which matter is suscep- 
tible of being wrought— the perfection — epitome — result of crea- 
tion, on which sits enthroned REASON. From this high emi- 
nence of mental and spiritual intercourse, the mind sweeps over 
the material universe, attracting to itself Truth and repelling 



22 

Error, analyzing matter, reducing compound natural law, giving 
cause to effect, design to cause, and Divinity to design. Inasmuch 
as the five external senses are the medium of conveying impres- 
sions from the external world to the mind, so, also, is a sympa- 
thetic nervous fluid the medium of conveying impressions from the 
internal or spiritual world to the mind, coming before the attrU 
bute of Reason like evidence before a judge, where it is arranged, 
condensed, decided on, and passed over to will for execution. As 
the mind wills, so the body acts. Consequently, internal impress 
sions or thoughts are manifested by external signs. Having now 
shown Man to have been the design and result of creation ; the 
union of matter w 7 ith spirit ; the operation of mind on matter, and 
the supremacy of Reason, we will now pass down through the great 
chain of existences to "chaotic" matter, and we find, from the 
highest Caucasian intellect and the most purely developed men- 
tality, a uniform grade of animate existences, one above the other, 
according to the fineness of physical structure, each revolving in 
its peculiar sphere, and each reigning supreme over all inferior 
creation. 

Now to the laws that govern : We can conceive of the existence 
of matter in an eternal state, but it is impossible to conceive of 
its creation out of nothing, for Deity himself is something, and if 
it emanated from him, it must have existed with him, therefore the 
"beginning was the word, which was God." The word was the 
Law, which "He spake, and it stood fast." After having rea- 
soned with himself and determined to bring about a result that 
should glorify himself, he institutes, or establishes, Law, under 
which he passes " chaotic" matter. Law is limit, both simple and 
compound, and the " beginning " was when chaotic matter became 
subject to Law, and limited by a sphere; hence all law, all mo- 
tion, is spherical. Motion was the result of Law ; change of 'par- 
ticles the result of motion ; globular forms the result of the sphere. 
The organic laws are simple, being two, a positive and a negative, 
attracting arjd repelling each other; crude, "chaotic" matter 
now being subject to Law, became thoroughly imbued with it, 
every particle partaking of the nature of the law, becoming either 
positive or negative, acquiring polarity, and is attracted or repelled 
by one or the other of the two laws that may inhere in it. Law 
induces motion ; motion induces change ; change induces forms 
having an affinity of particles ; forms induce concentration ; con- 
centration induces instinct; instinct induces intellect; intellect 
induces mind ; mind induces spirit ; spirit induces God, in whose 
attributes it will ever unfold in capacity to enjoy, never compre- 
hending Him. 

We have already shown that a law or force gravitating to the 
oontri of all bodies docs not exist, and in treating of a body that 



23 

should lly off from this planet reaching a point in space where it 
can neither ascend, descend, or revolve on a plane, will further 
show the impossibility of such a law, such an effect. " The world 
was without form and void." This passage of the Mosaic record 
clearly shows " chaos " to have been an unshapen mass of molten 
matter, until it passed under organic law ; as soon as it became 
subject to law, attraction and repulsion induced transition of par- 
ticles, and the mass became instinct with motion ! Motion marked 
its orbit, it revolved on its axis, and the " evening and the morn- 
ing were the first day." The planet, for it has now assumed 
globular form, is encased in a dense volume of vapor, for the watery 
element at this time must have existed in vapor, while the solids 
seek adjustment by affinity of particles, attracting and repelling 
each other, until adjusted by and according to law. At this stage 
the commotion of elements must have surpassed conception. The 
negative force inheres in the planet, the positive inheres in the 
sun, consequently the earth is attracted by the sun, until its at- 
traction is overcome by repulsion, when the planet again flies off" 
from the sun, revolving in a sphere on a plane. The sun being 
positive, attracts all bodies to itself, and were it not for the nega- 
tive inherent force of the planets, would absorb them ; but, re- 
pulsion overcoming attraction, it can only retain them within its 
influence, each revolving in a sphere or an ellipse, according to its 
volume and negative inherent force. A sun and all planets re- 
volving within its influence is a solar system, which also revolve 
in a sphere as a whole, so that no planet or system ever revolves 
twice in precisely the same sphere, but all revolve in harmony and 
unison with each other ; hence the " music of the spheres." Where, 
now, is the law gravitating to the centre of all bodies ? True, 
movable bodies are retained on the surface of the planet, not by 
gravitation, but by atmospheric pressure induced by electrism ! 
consequently no body can fly off from its surface, and if it could, 
it would revolve in a sphere on a plane, according to its volume 
and negative inherent force, which shows that there is no point in 
space where matter can become stationary, so long as it is subject 
to organic law. Destroy the negative law, and all planets will 
rush into the suns and be consumed by those vast luminaries ; the 
suns rush into each other, until the whole "universcelum " be- 
comes one vast conflagration. Destroy the positive law, and the 
suns /will cool and break in shattered fragments; darkness brood 
over the infinitude of space ; the very essence of Deity himself 
will chill — congeal — and mad, impulsive, unrestrained organic law 
will hurl the " vestiges of creation " fierce through space, break- 
ing, bursting, desolating, until matter shall be destroyed, force 
exhausted, and hope, love, beauty, swallowed up in the universal 
wreck of worlds ! A catastrophe so repulsive to the human mind 



24 

cannot happen, for Divine law is not only infinite in application, 
but infinite in duration. Hope; even beams from the shadows of 
despair. Love; smiles amid the faded flowers. Beauty; lingers 
on the brow of sorrow. Truth ; leads us to the portals of light, 
life, and immortality ; glory be to Him who sitteth on the Throne 
and reigneth for ever and ever ; amen. 

Respectfully, GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

January 15, 1854. 

DELAWARE, Nebraska Territory, January 23, 1854. 

Dear Friend : I have perused and reperused with much atten- 
tion the communication over your signature which appeared in 
the Western Dispatch of last week.. I was really astonished and 
amazed at the able and concise manner in which you discussed 
this new theory , or at least new and strange to me. My aston- 
ishment did not arise, as you may imagine, from any want of con- 
fidence in your ability. No, far from any such idea; but the 
conclusive, and I may add, persuasive manner in which you forced 
one even unwilling to admit that you were correct in your new 
theory, was really astonishing, 

If this theme of yours is the correct and proper one, your ques- 
tion as to "Where now is the law gravitating to the centre of all 
bodies ?" will remain forever unanswered— --from this simple fact , 
that there can be none, 

"Movable matter, as you state, may only be retained upon the 
surface of the planet by atmospheric pressure induced by electrism!" 
The atmospheric pressure, lam aware, is very great to the cubic 
inch, but at the same time, I fear not sufficient to retain bodies, 
particularly very light ones, upon the surface of a planet, for 
instance, the earth, without some other exerting influence acting in 
unison and harmony with the atmosphere. 

Undoubtedly, by destroying the negative inherent force of 
planets, the power of attraction of the suns remaining the same, 
they would all rush into those great luminaries and be destroyed, 
and the whole '* universgelum " become one vast conflagration, 
and the reverse would take place by destroying the positive law — 
the suns would cool and break in shattered fragments — the very 
essence of Deity himself would chill— a catastrophe too repulsive 
and awful for the human mind to contemplate would ensue ; but 
this can never happen, for Divine law is infinite in application and 
duration, and He who wields the arm of power over the vast and 
numberless worlds which are in space contained is omniscient, om- 
nipresent and all powerful, and in his mighty sway worlds and 
planets are regulated and moved with less exertion than we use in 
regulating a watch. 



25 

la this discussion, my friend, you will find opponents at every 
step, but this I know will neithor deter or discourage one of your 
capacity. Text-books and authors of unsullied merit and world- 
renowned fame will be cited in opposition to your theory, but per- 
severance may surmount any and all obstacles. 

In all your endeavors to expound, explain, or discover a new 
theory, bated upon truths and facts, rest assured that you will 
always find a firm friend, a zealous advocate, and a determined 
supporter in your humble friend, the writer of this letter. 

The evening is now far advanced, and I will close and retire, 
hoping soon to have the pleasure of the perusal of a letter in reply 
to this from your able pen, and with my best wishes for your 
health and future success in life, I remain as ever, 

Your sincere friend, B. D. CASTLEMAN. 

To Mr. George B. Simpson, Independence, Missouri, 



INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, Jam(ary25, 1854. 

Dear Friend : Your letter of the 23d ultimo, referring to arj 
article of mine in the Dispatch of last week, this moment eame to- 
hand. 

The very flattering manner in which you refer to that produc- 
tion, excites in my mind a fear lest there should be a weak point 
in it. 

I am aware it strikes not only at, but strikes down, the founda- 
tion of established theories, and opens up to the inquiring mind a 
pathway of light, in which is Truth and eternal life. 

It does not overleap but breaks through all barriers ; marching 
boldly forward to free life, free thought, and free act ; and, when 
rightly and thoroughly understood, will elevate the human race to 
that social condition wherein peace will flow as a river, and Na- 
ture's own religion will inspire the heart to universal praise, sweet- 
ening and alleviating the toils of life, the din of whose industrial 
harmony will be as an eternal echo ! The way is now open, not 
to one, but to all men ; and if what is there set forth be true, 
then, there is nothing in the material or immaterial universe but 
TRUTH, the negative of which is ERROR, that sweet morsel we 
delight to roll under our tongue, because some priest has bid us 
do it. 

The world is now burdened by taxation, even to groaning, not 
in support of the state, but the priesthood ; and if there is any 
power in Truth, God granting me life and strength, I will wield a 
force that will hurl them from their high places and consign them 
to that oblivion they so justly merit. How preposterous the idea 
that one man should ask another to preach to him and then offer 



26 

pay for it ; is it not tantamount to the purchase of salvation for 
a price? How ever, " through the foolishness of preaching many 
shall be saved. 11 

Now, open the great book of Nature by the side of Revela- 
tion, and invite all men to read for themselves — to analyze the 
truths of each on the principle of a positive and negative, truth 
and error, light and darkness, heat and cold, solid and fluid, male 
and female, thus onward ad infinitum', and then, on the principle 
of a sphere, let then analyze all motion, and the results enumer- 
ated in the article referred to will stand forth in all their beautiful 
proportions, gradually rising from one sphere to another, thus on- 
ward through ascending spheres up to God ! 

Have no fears in regard to the law of gravitation, for it cer- 
tainly does not exist. But that a positive and negative organic 
law are the basis of all motion and all individuality, may be clearly 
demonstrated. 

I may, at some future time, offer further evidence in support of 
my theory already advanced. 

I will comply with, your request, and shall be happy to hear 
from you at all times ; will also anticipate your arrival here with 
pleasure. 

With sentiments of high esteem, I am your friend and obedient 
servant, GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

To B. D. Castleman, Esq., Delaware, Nebraska Territory. 

P. S. — The words "priest " and "priesthood " in this letter are 
intended to apply to the general practice of "preaching," and are 
used in no offensive sense whatever. All denominations should 
"teach;" this was the Divine command. G. B. S. 



INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, Februay 23, 1854. 

Dear Friend : Your very kind letter of the 21st ultimo this 
moment came to hand, and in noticing its contents, I regret to find 
you laboring under a mistake in regard to the intent of my letter 
to you of the 25th of January last. 

You seem to construe the purport of that letter to refer to your 
"sincerity," whereas it refers expressly to the article in question, 
to wit : "Lest there should be a weak point in it." Nothing could 
have been more foreign to my feelings and intentions than to 
have imputed insincerity to the expression of sentiments at once 
so frank, generous, and noble. The fear was excited in my mind 
"Lest there should be a weak point in it," (the article referred to,) 
and, after having convinced my friends of the truth of my discov- 
ery, then, on an uncompromising analysis it should turn out, like 



Sir Isaac Xewtcms, to be no discovery at all. It was thjs search- 
|« analysis I feared and had more especially in mind at the time 
aK the remotest idea of imputing insincerity to your generous 
sentiments; for, how could I bear the ignominy, the reproaches of 
mv Mends after my conclusions shall have been demonstrated by 
mv 2b« being incorrect t However, on a more thorough 

and mv mind settled down in the conviction t uat it is not on y 
true, but that it rests securely on the immutability and cternahty 
nf the Divine Intelligence. t:„,. 

You are correct in regard to the accomplishment of my object; 
nolcoutd I Tope for a ilsult so desirable, as all reformat.ons are 
pro^s te in their nature and tendencies, and the most I can hope 
£°ffi during my life is the laying of * "^actS 
future e-enerations may erect a structure which shall embrace tne 
Sd-the whole human race-and endnre through all coming 

inasmuch as the Pontine and Negative organic law of the ma- 
terial universe is the basis of all science, and their development 
"Srfan analytical analysis of all ^^™\}J»f »1« 
sences, it follows that these researches are unparalleled by human 

iD Tokhrpreacher I would substitute the Universal Teacher; 
and as a commencement of the inculcation of truth, I would levy 
^injunction on the mother's lip,, and seal them against all error 
Mse impressions, deceitful promises, and tyranmca author ty. I 
wouldTmpress the mother's smile on the infant's mind, and on its 
cheek imprint the kiss of loving kindness ; and then direct the 
Sc mind in channels of innocence, purity and truth, and govern 
tattZlve interest and sympathy. Oh ! what purity of heart 
and soul lies in the mother's lap! ^^^^SZ 
cence that bud of future hope and promise, that life eternal em 
bodied in the flesh; and because, forsooth, < its mine shall I 
- rule It with a rod of iron ? Is that eternal spirit mine because be- 
Gotten by my agency t And does right inure in me to will its acts 
loprescribels pleasures and enjoyments ? Methinks an adequate 
andappropriate answer to the foregoing questions is found in the 
reply of Jesus, when he said or inquired, -Who is my Father and 
2o is my Mother-, wist ye not that I must be about my Father s 

J "Sre S aUy fear the natural relations of parent and child are not 
propfrly understood. I would rear the child by love, and direct its 
tastes habits, and appetites by attractive interest; happiness is 
the I at home and home is a foretaste of Heaven on earth ; where 
harmony love and purity reign, error and impurity cannot dwe 
Ts the basis of the physical universe has been defined, I wUl 



28 

now give you the ultuftaie of all moral and intellectual research-*- 
the universal human text, namely, CONVICTION OF TRUTH 
IS CONVERSION TO GOD. Now I ask you, what, in the sense 
of revelation, is conversion to God ? Is it not the conviction of 
the truth of Revelation ? What else ? Or what more can it mean ? 
Does it not follow, then, that all truth is revealed ? And error 
being the opposite of truth, may not the origin of evil have been 
the misconception of truth and the misuse of things ? If this be 
true, how easy to be converted ; use and not abuse, receive and 
not deceive, are the essential incentives to right action. The ac- 
quisition of truth being the basis of all motive, all desire, and the 
possession of which the inheritance to a crown of unfading glory 
that passeth not away, eternal in the Heavens, rejoice and be glad. 

Next in order will be the basis of Association, Government, and 
Law ; these I have also written out, as you may remember to have 
heard me read from my papers, but, as it might tend rather to 
bewilder than elucidate what I wish to develop, you will please 
excuse me for not appending it to this desultory epistle. 

My object is now to form an Association on a natural basis, 
develop the harmony of human existence, and unfold the true 
object of life. 

I want a press through which I may be enabled to promulgate 
these living truths, and pour them into the human heart like the 
inhalations of earth's sweetest odors. 

I fear I have now wearied your patience by taxing your mind 
with too long a letter ; if so, the absording interest I feel in the 
unfolding of nature in all her beautiful proportions must be my 
only apology. 

With sentiments of high esteem, I am your friend and obedient 
servant, GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

To B. D. Castleman, Esq., Delaware, Nebraska Territory. 



AXIOMS. 

Truth is the basis of all right reason. 

The mind that dwells in truth lives in light. 

Life is but the means unto an end ; pursue it rightly. 

Live for noble ends, for immortality, and for God : then you 

will live to some purpose, and your end will be glorious. 
Knowledge is the beginning of wisdom. 
Wisdom is a knowledge of all things human and divine. 
Knowledge is acquired by adding little to little. 
Aspire to the highest eminence of human excellence. 
Youth is the time to lay a foundation for old age. 
Let your chief corner-stone be Truth. 



29 

Order is a universal law of Nature. 

Obedience to law is one of the first duties of Man. 

The calms of life are more dangerous than its storms. 

In a storm one looks for principle to which to cling : 

In a calm, he is too apt to think the principle will cling to him. 

Magnetism is the positive organic law of Nature. 

Electricity is the negative organic law of Nature. 

These tivo perform all the functions of creation. 

Man and all inferior animate existences were created by laws 
ordained by Deity himself; investigate thoroughly. 

The mind that dwells in error gropes in darkness. 

Curiosity is the inmate of prisons. 

Law is limit. The senses convey ideas to the mind, BeasoN 
defines their extent, and Will executes their mandates. 

Let virtue be thy motto, shield, and defense. 

Perfect virtue is perfect happiness. 

Twine the virtues around thy heart like a floral wreath. 

Search for Truth and apply her precepts to thy use. 

All error must perish, but truth will live forever. 

The intellect should be developed and beautified with truth. 

Enjoyment consists in the goodness of the heart. 

Virtue will strew life's way with flowers : 

Patience will twine them into beautiful wreaths. 

By patience we are enabled to overcome great obstacles. 

That which appears impossible to-day may appear quite pos- 
sible to-morrow. 

SELECTED. 
" Virtue's the friend of life, the soul of health, 

The poor man's comfort, and the rich man's wealth." 
Kindness begets kindness and love wins the beart. 

LOVE. 
What is love ? r Tis a pleasurable emotion 
That sits, enthrones, encircles, fills, 
And compasses the whole heart ; 
'Tis life, 'tis immortality. 
The birds sing sweetest when their hearts are warm with love* 

INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, 1854. 



CAUSE OF ALL CAUSE— GOD, RESULT OF ALL 

CAUSES— MAN. 

INDIVIDUALITY. 

1. Man exists as an ultimate. 

2. Man, when he is, is surrounded by pre-existina results. 

3. Man is influenced by causes unfolding forms over which \ 
has no control. 



30 



THE RIGHTS OF MAN. 

INHERENT RIGHTS. 

1, The right Inheres in Man to live. 

2. The right inheres in Man to think. 
& The right inheres in Man to act. 

ORDER OF RIGHTS, 
L Man possesses inherent rights. 
2i Man may possess acquired rights* 
3; Man may possess delegated rights* 

NATURE OF RIGHTS. 

€aie Kight 1S an aUHbUte inhererlt in tlie ***** of the Producing 
2. Right inheres in the nature of Man by the fiat to be. 

0. Kight is supreme— sacred^-because inherent. 

MOTION, 

1. Motion is the result of" Law. 

i. Change of particles the result of Motion 
other ' the result of particles having an affinity for each 

1. JLaW IS ?27W2^ 4 

2. Limit is w^, marked by a *»W 

o. Its results, innumerable and illimitable spheres. 

MENTALITY 

a inS wV $ the 7- u \ o{ highl ? c ™^™^ «o*r. 

A intellect— mind is the m»& of instinct. 

WbuteoftEu m " & Q f "^ an ^ emaZ "*' an at- 
tribute oi the Divine Mind, in whose presence it is ever unfolding 

^^Z^^^zSf evorj partiele of matter - 

peculiarly adantS £ ? f * *° lda m an a PP ro P ri ate sphere 

peculiarly adapted to its organization, in which sphere it w m, 




31 

By this phrase we mean any form that has circular movemen-*, 
whether concentric, elliptical, or spiral* 
This is the order of Association : 

1. Individual sphere. 

2. Perfect enjoyment of all things within the sphere. 

3. Association of spheres by attraction of mutual affinities. 

This gives free life, free thought, free action, every one revolv- 
ing within his or her own peculiar sphere, enjoying to the fullest 
and freest extent all things within that sphere, and associated 
with every other sphere beneath, around, above, by kindred ties 
of sympathy, interest, and society, evolving, in one eternal round 
of spheres, universal harmony, universal truth, universal love, 
universal justice, universal interest and association, peace unceas- 
ing, which is the universal brotherhood of Christ on earth, whose 
joys and rejoicings flow in strains of unmeasured harmony, echo- 
ing the songs of David and the sentiment of Him who said, ''"Peace 
on earth, and good will to men" 

This also gives natural life, natural association, natural religion, 
every one choosing his or her own sphere in life, objects of pur- 
suit, and mode of worship. 

This gives individuality to sphere, independent action and en- 
joyment within the sphere, and association of spheres by affinity 
of interests and social enjoyments. 

The sphere is sacred, Divine, because it is an eternal order of 
law of nature, consequently all rights pertaining to a human Being; 
are not only legitimate, but sacred, Divine, as is the internal es- 
sence their Being unfolds. 

This unfolds the object of life I which is the development of an 
eternal essence whose ultimate is Spirit, and whose office is " Glory 
to God in the highest." 

This gives equality to right, for, if right inhere in me, it also* 
inheres in you ; and if by my inherent rights I may acquire others, 
you may also acquire ; and if by my inherent and acquired rights* 
I may attain to delegated rights, you may also attain ; and if my 
associated rights are sacred and inviolable, yours are equally 
sacred and inviolable; and, as we cherish and esteem the sacred** 
ness and Divinity of our own rights, will we cherish and esteem 
the rights of others, for all are alike sacred, and of the same Di- 
vine Origin. 

TRUTH is the primary and ultimate of all existences, whether 
material or immaterial, consequently conviction of Truth is con" 
version to GOD. 

How natural the conversion when the Mind is once open to th© 
reception of Truth* 



32 

REASON is the Divine attribute of intelligent Beings: Truth 
and Reason have such an affinity that it is impossible to prevent 
association when they come within the sphere of each other; con- 
sequently, it is only necessary to disrobe the Mind of preconceived 
prejudices, and unreservedly open it to the reception of all Truth, 
to become intelligent, learned, and wise. 

Wisdom is the knowledge of Truth. Whether it flow to the mind 
in the unmeasured song of the mountain bird, enrapturing the soul 
with the harmony and melody of its music, or is borne on the breeze 
in the aromatic odor, or unfolds in the bloom of the flower, or is 
manifest in the blending of colors, the reproduction of kinds, the 
alternate change of seasons, the attractions of social intercourse, 
or the ecstatic joys of the wrapt soul that wafts on angel wings in 
imagination amid celestial spheres, all is alike Truth, the acquis- 
ition of which is knowledge, the constituent of wisdom* 

How overwhelming is the contemplation of Truth ! how sublime 
the idea ! how glorious are its manifestations I and yet how simple. 
Truth ! it exists in every atom of animated Nature ; it is the es- 
sence of material and immaterial forms ) it is the sublimity, the 
crowning glory of Reason. Sway thy scepter ! Reason ! o'er 
the human mind ; awake it to a living sense of the glory that sur- 
rounds it, that Truth may flow to it from unfolding causes, nour- 
ishing, vivifying, and imparting the living principle of light, life, 
and immortality. The mind that dwells in Truth lives in light. 
Light surrounds the throne of the mind by the emanating efful- 
gence of Truth ; Reason being the great arbiter of Right. How 
dignified, how just ought man to be ? sitting, as it were, in judg- 
ment on his own acts, or, more properly, on those impressions 
made on the mind, flowing through his senses from external causes, 
over which he has no control. Although he cannot prevent the 
influx of impressions, he can, by the exercise of Reason, reject all 
that do not harmonize with Truth, Love, and Justice. Here is 
manifest the God-like attribute of man in rejecting the sensuous 
impressions of an animal nature, for, if there were no animal ap- 
petites craving indulgence to overcome, there could be no virtue 
in overcoming. What a gift ! Reason to receive truth, and Rea- 
son to reject Error ! How effectually are all sensuous impressions 
under the control of Reason ! How unerring are all decisions, 
how exalted the judgment, how exact the justice, how pure, how 
holy the mind where Reason reigns supreme ! 

Impressions from the external world unbidden through the senses 
flow, and on the mind impress their image ; some light, some dark, 
some black with crime, s most hideous forms — all must enter ; but 
in the light of Reason darkness flees away, appetite and error are 
consumed, and Truth, beauty, and hope are mingled into love y 



33 

which is the essence of wisdom, the all-inspiring attribute of Praise. 
Praise whom ? 

" Praise God 1 from whom all blessings flow, 
Praise Him all creatures here below, 
Praise Him above ye heavenly host," 
Praise God, praise Christ, praise Truth. 

We cannot touch or behold an object, smell an odor, taste a 
substance, or hear a sound, without realizing Truth ; it is the 
"Alpha and Omega,'" the first and the last, the beginning and the 
end of all things. It is in the smallest atom, the simplest act, the 
grandest world, the sublimest thought ; it lives, and moves, and has 
a Being in all material forms and essences, and in the spirit has a 
form unfolding into beauty and light ineffable, thus onward through 
ascending spheres of glory up to God ! 

Truth is in the frowning cloud, the lightning's vivid flash, the 
thunder's muttering roar, the whirling tempest, the devastating 
storm ; it beams from the bright and living green of earth, the 
delicate inviting flower, the bud just opening into bloom, the 
pearly drop that hangs suspended from a blade of grass, the gentle 
zephyr, the sweet and stilly night, the playful twinkle of a star 
that floats in azure blue, and on the deep, deep blue of heaven is 
stamped the impress of eternal Truth. 

" Truth crushed to earth will rise again, 
The eternal years of God are hers," 

And in the temples where her light burned dim, 
Will gleam the splendor of her radiant throne. 
Those minds by error darkened will not slumber, 
But when the light of Truth upon them flash, 
Will waken to newness of life, and, like the mighty 
Paul, exclaim, " What wilt thou have me to do ?" 
Believe ! misguided soul, believe the Truth of Nature, 
And from her outward forms receive the evidence 
Of Truth within, which through the sense of feeling, 
Sight, or sound, flows to the mind, where Reason 
Dictates what to do, believe, embrace, adore ! 
Thy heart will never bleed, though error die within it ; 
For Truth, the healing halm of Gilead, will soothe, 
Restore, imparting strength, vigor, life, light, 
And glory ineffable where error reigned supreme. 
Independence, Missouri, 1854. 



INDEPENDENCE, Missouri, 1854. 
There is a divinity within the human soul that moves man on- 
ward to noble deeds ; it inspires with hope, and bids him live. 
As if inspired with some superior power, man rises above him- 
3 



34 

self, fixes his mind on high and holy aims, beholds the future, and 
Jeels as though ideal forms were types of what the real is to be. 

Firmly impressed with the truth of what he thinks he sees, he 
braces himself against all danger, determined to press forward till 
victory shall crown his efforts, and his name is wreathed with liv- 
ing laurels of unfading glory. 

This was the inspiration that moved Columbus to the discovery of 
a New World ; it was this divinity within the human soul that moved 
Luther and Calvin against the Roman Church ; it led Napoleon 
and Wellington to the battle-field of Waterloo; it filled the Pilgrim 
Fathers with hope; it gave confidence and courage to Adams, 
Hancock, Franklin, and their compatriots ; it played around the 
heart of the youthful Washington as ideal Liberty flitted before 
his mind, and as the outlines of her graceful form became more 
marked and distinct, he thought he saw new charms, new graces, 
new beauties, and receiving new impulses from the innate power 
of inspiring causes ; he looked again, above, below, beyond the 
gathering storm and actually saw the real form of Liberty! Fired 
with enthusiasm, flushed with confidence and hope, he believed the 
real would yet be his, and with a high, fixed, unalterable resolve, 
he marshaled his little army against opposing hosts, and led them 
on to victory ! Liberty perched on the standard of inalienable 
rights, man rose to an equality with man, power flowed from the 
people, and the name of Washington impressed itself on every 
heart, surrounded by a halo of imperishable glory. 



HEAT IN THE UPPER STRATUM OF A CLOUD. 

, December 13, 1854. 



Editor of the : 

Sir : There appeared in the columns of your paper, a few weeks 
since, a brief account of of an aironautical tour, in which the air- 
onautist experienced singular phenomena while passing through a 
cloud, the cause of which he desired to know. Without presum- 
ing that which I shall say is absolutely true, I may, with your per- 
mission, offer such suggestions in explanation as appear to my mind 
most probable. 

If we take Sir Isaac Newton's analysis of the sun's rays as a 
guide, we must infer that the rays producing heat and chemical 
effects are intercepted by the vapor, the ray of light being more 
subtle, penetrates the mass by its inconceivable refractions, faintly 
illuminating the spot of earth shaded by the intervening cloud. 
Consequently, in penetrating the cloud upward, as in balloon as- 
censions, the lower stratum of the cloud will be conceivably colder 
than the surface strata of the earth's atmosphere, from the absence 



35 

of the two rays and the emission of heat from the earth ; aiicl the 
upper stratum of the cloud will be conceivably -warmer, from the 
interception of the rays producing heat and chemical effects in 
combination with the ray of light. 

Very respectfully, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



MAY 6, 1854. 

In revolving in thought the probable order of the earth's strata, 
it occurred to my mind that the most condensed particl© of matter 
sought the lowest and the rarest the most distant point in a sphere, 
and that each strata from the centre was formed in accordance 
with this law ; if this be true, then indeed are we living " in" the 
earth as effectually as is the rock w T hich lies embedded beneath its 
soil ; for the hardened crust is but a sublimated strata of the liquid 
fiery centre ; the granite, mineral, and vegetable being in regular 
order, from which flows the watery element, then the atmosphere, 
in which " we live, and move, and have our Being ;" beyond which 
is oxygen, flourine, and electricity in continued order of develop- 
ment, the latter being the outer and most sublimated strata of the 
earth's atmosphere, extending beyond and embracing the moon's 
orbicular movements. 

This furnishes a rational explanation of the moon's running 
a high" and "low" showing conclusively that the moon is at- 
tracted north or south, as the case may be, by the passage of im* 
mense volumes of electricity from one pole to the other, thus act- 
ing as the earth's Barometer, and thus accounting for all the 
" signs " attributed to that body. 

This shows that the moon has no influence on the earth, but the 
changes and " signs " of the moon, its supposed effect on the tides, 
atmosphere and temperature, are all directly traceable to the va- 
riations in the earth's electric envelope. 

This also shows that if the earth could be enveloped in a net- 
work of metallic wire suspended in the atmosphere, the superabund- 
ant electricity would be conducted to the earth, thus restoring and 
maintaining an electric equilibrium and a more uniform atmos- 
pheric temperature. 

This might also have a very beneficial effect on atmospheric 
diseases of the human, animal, and vegetable organisms. 

Lightnings, whirlwinds, and devastating tornadoes would be 
prevented or greatly modified, thus securing life and property 
against the evil effects of a restoration of the unequally-distrib- 
uted elements. Laiv is limit. 



36 

MAY 9, 1854. 

Reflecting on the cause of the petrifaction of vegetable, flesh, 
and bone substances, it occurred to my mind that the chemical 
property or essence producing that effect resides in and is an in- 
herent element of lime, or lime formations. 

It also occurred to my mind that this peculiar property might 
be discovered by analyzing the water which leaches through lime 
deposits, where petrified fossils are discovered. 

The discovery of this solidifying and stone-creating element, in 
its application to the uses of man, would be of greater value than 
almost any other discovery. 

I have* in my possession the flesh portion of a human body per- 
fectly petrified, also the foot of an animal, apparently a buffalo, 
(after the hoof had dropped off,) both of which are in a state of 
perfect preservation, except the stony condition, and were col- 
lected with other fossils on Mount Adams, directly north of the 
city of Cincinnati, Ohio, in the fall of 1847. 

it would appear that an immersion of the flesh, bone, and veg- 
etable in this chemical solution interposes an immediate check to- 
wards decomposition, infusing itself into every pore and avenue 
of the substance immersed, till it becomes perfectly saturated with 
the chemical properties of the stone-creating principle of lime. 

This may appear strange to many scientific minds ; neverthe- 
less it approaches near the truth, and may lead to a valuable and 
important discovery. 



NOVEMBER 6, 1854. 

Creation is the development of Forms and the individualiza- 
tion of i^o^'o7i,|unfolded by the harmonious action of a positive and 
negative organic law. 

Lightning is the instantaneous expansion of highly concen- 
trated matter, in the form of hydrogen gas, which is generated by 
the decomposition of water in the air, chemically acted on by heat 
and cold, or magnetism and electricity. 

The earth's stratification is on the principle of a sphere, accord- 
ing to density and rarity of particles, the densest assuming the 
lowest, and the rarest the most distant point in the sphere, which 
shows that matter has but two conditions, dense and rare. This 
annihilates the laiv of gravitation, for, when a solid is reduced to 
rare, instead of " 4 gravitating " in obedience to the lair towards the 
centre of the planet, it descends upward to a strata of its own pe- 
culiar rarity. 

This places man in the centre of the earth's strata, being un- 
folded in form between the solid and rarified strata. 

Evaporation is caused by the positive action of heat upon cold ; 



37 

in other words, the earth's electricity is repelled by the sun's mag* 
netism, carrying with it into the upper regions infinite globules of 
water, which associate a,ndiform cloud, and which, on further con- 
densation, become too weighty to be borne up longer by the elec- 
tric force, fall back upon the solid earth in the form of rain, snow, 
and hail, seeking a strata of the same density. 

In fair weather, those globules of water not associated into 
cloud, after the going down of the sun, return to the earth again in 
the form of deiv, unless the emission of heat from the earth's sur- 
face is so great as to keep them suspended in the atmosphere. 

The moon has no perceptible influence on the earth, being a 
fragment of it, and revolves in its own orbit within the earth's 
atmosphere; and, instead of causing the tides and atmospheric 
changes, is itself acted on by the earth's electric currents, becom- 
ing, as it were, the earth's barometer. 

Though these a signs" are attributed to the influence of the 
moon, it manifests only the effect, the cause existing in the vari- 
ableness of the earth's electric envelope. Therefore the u signs " 
may be true, the cause never. 



NOVEMBER 14, 1854. 

In descanting on science and philosophy, I held that the tides, 
wind currents, ocean currents, and " signs" of the weather, are 
all attributable to the influence of the earth's electric and dia-elec- 
tric currents. That all matter is subject to, controled, and un- 
folded by a positive and negative organic law ; that it applies to 
all material and supposed immaterial forms, and that spirit is but 
the perfection and individualization of motion. 

In morals there is nothing pure and eternal but Truth ; there 
is nothing mortal and perishable but Error', that "Sin" has its 
origin in the misconception of truth, and the consequent misap- 
plication of things. 

Again, mind, muscles, members, functions, and fluidic forces are 
all dual, and that man is simply passive in the development and 
perfection of the internal or spiritual Being, his external being 
acted on by ulterior forces over which he can exercise no control, 
though ever appearing to choose for himself in the exercise of his 
agency or functions, from the fact that the superior interests, 
social and pecuniary, force his ivill of the thing chosen. 

The Doctor (H. R. Wirtz, Assistant Surgeon United States 
Army) admitted that there was an indescribable something in the 
governing forces of the Universe not rightly understood. 

In my opinion, there is one God, one Nature, one Law, one 
Science, one Philosophy, one Religion or mode of worship, one 



38 

Eternity of duration, and one Infinite and eternal source of causa- 
tion. 

How futile the attempts of those who would establish a belief in 
a supernatural power or agency, weaving simple truths into meta- 
physical mysteries, bewildering the mind of the searcher after 
truth, and closing the door of nature's great labaratory to those 
who running might read and be guided by her simple truths. 

But the day is passed ; the dawning of a new era appears in the 
East ; man is awakening from his long night of sleep to enjoy the 
light of truth, and breathe the sweetness of the fragrance she in- 
stills, and plant new flowers by the wayside for the youth of future 
ages to gather in their pilgrimage through life. Ay, the intellect 
of Man shall bud and blossom as the rose, till every thought shall 
be fragrant with some new and living truth, and every word shall 
be as the germ of a new thought. 

How beautiful will then be the intellectual garden of life; how 
pure and holy its social relations ; how sweet and enchanting its 
melodious music; how delicate the texture of every thought, word, 
and action ; how high and ennobling the society of man ! Is there 
not something in all this more than mortal? Is it not the divinely 
instituted attribute of Reason, which is of and unto the great 
Deity ! I think so. 



PORTLAND, Oregon Territory, August 3, 1856. 

Mrs. William Holmes, Oregon City, 0. T: 

Madam : In compliance with your wish, it affords me the great- 
est pleasure to offer for your acceptance the accompanying speci- 
men of natural curiosity. This specimen possesses in itself no 
intrinsic value, and is esteemed only for its display of mysterious 
forces. In it are hidden the organic laws of matter, which are 
made manifest to our senses by placing bars of steel in juxtapo- 
sition to it, the mysterious forces attracting or repelling the bars 
of steel according to polarity. These forces are called positive 
and negative, and are the active agents in the development of all 
material Forms. They cause the blade of grass to shoot forth, 
the flower to unfold, give variety and color to its leaves, and throw 
off its fragrance. 

They give power and vitality to the animal, unfold and perfect 
the human, and by their attractive influence cause the spirit to 
bloom in immortal glory. Look upon this cold and forbidding 
Form, pour over its unfolded pages and its hidden power, till from 
the depth of thought the mind becomes weary, or in its ascent it 
becomes dizzy from its towering flight ; then, throw it (the mind) 
out into space, around, above, below, till it again becomes weary 



39 

of travel, tlien recall it, pla'ce it again upon this dark cold rock, 
and ask, whence thy origin? what thy inherent properties ? from 
whom emanates thy mysterious power? The answer cometh 7tot, 

Flattering myself that you will accept this little gift, not for its 
value in dollars and cents, but as a memento of him who has been 
blessed by your kindness, and the high esteem in which he now 
and ever holds you, your husband, and your family, he will feel 
himself obliged. 

I have the pleasure to remain your friend and obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



WASHINGTON, April 15, 1857, 

To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Gentlemen : By the politeness of a friend I am permitted to 
copy the following extract from a private letter dated St. Louis, 
Missouri, November 9, 1856, which, for its direct bearing on a 
question now agitating the public mind, especially in Europe, 1 
hope you will favor with a place in your columns: 

THE PREDICTED COMET, 

"Now, by way of fortifying your mind against fear, permit me 
to remind you that astronomers throughout the world are at this 
time looking for the reappearance of Heally's great comet of 
1765. The near approach of this planet in embryo will influence 
our planet, perhaps the entire solar system. It will be attracted 
by the sun, and then repelled by it ; it will both attract and repel 
the planets of the solar system, and appear to create disorder — 
confusion. But have no fears. It can neither attract nor be at- 
tracted so as to come in contact with any of the heavenly bodies. 
The most it can do to any of the planets (ours not excepted) will 
be to change the currents of their electrical envelopes ! This will 
have a tendency to give us the warmest or the coldest winter (should 
the comet appear soon) experienced sinee 1765. Should the earth's 
electricity be attracted or repelled to either pole, the temperate 
zones will enjoy an unusual degree of mildness ; on the other hand, 
should the earth's electric sheen be gathered in folds nearing the 
equatorial regions, then indeed may we expect the most intense 
cold ever experienced in this climate. In either event the dis- 
turbance of the ocean of electricity in which the solar system floats 
will produce extraordinary results in atmospheric temperature, 
wind currents, and vegetation, until the electric equilibrium shall 
be re-established. This may appear strange to you, but by refer- 
ring to an article of mine published in the Western Dispatch, of 
Independence, Missouri, in the winter of 1853-4, headed 'Is it 
So?' (which paper I think is in your possession,) you will not fail 



40 

to observe the cause of the phenomena suggested above. These 
truths are important." 

The foregoing suggestions may throw some light on the severity 
of the last winter and the backwardness of the spring. 

Very respectfully, VERASTUS. 



WASHINGTON, April 27, 1857. 
To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Gentlemen: The letter referred to in my note of the 15th 
ultimo, and published in your paper of the 17th, is herewith sub- 
mitted for publication. 

By a careful perusal of this letter, it will be perceived that a 
comet is the nucleus of an embryo planet, and that it can neither 
come in contact with the central body of our solar system or any 
of its satellites. 

The positive or negative organic law must first be destroyed, in 
which event the universe becomes one common wreck. No fears 
need be entertained of a collision with our planet ; all it can do is 
to disturb the equilibrium of its electrical envelope. 

Yours, very truly, VERASTUS. 



[From the Western D'spatch.] 

Is It So? — If there was no Cause, there could be no Effect; 
therefore, inasmuch as the latter is, the former must have been, 
consequently, all effects revert immediately to a First Cause, from 
which we infer Matter to have existed with Deity, Nature and 
Revelation to have existed in harmony with each other, both in 
harmony and existent with Deity himself. Deity is a trinity of 
essences — Truth, Love, and Wisdom; from whom all truth, all 
love, and all intelligence emanate ; and all existences, material or 
immaterial, are but the expressions of His will. Hence the object 
of Creation, which we conceive to have been a result that should 
glorify Himself. He is represented by the inspired penman to 
have reasoned with himself, saying : " Let us make man in our 
own image," &c If this be true, then Man was the object of 
creation, or a material essence so highly refined as to be capable 
of uniting with or individualizing spiritual essence, possessing, in 
degree, all the attributes of Deity, in conjunction with the appe- 
tites of a material organization. This material essence we find in 
the mind of man, and as all internal impressions must come from 
the external universe, it is reasonable to suppose that the five ex- 
ternal senses were the medium through which was conveyed to the 
mind of man his spirituality, which is " in the precise image of his 
creator." And since it was the design, the object is accomplished 



41 

in the production of a Material Immaterial Beinjr, possessing all 
the attributes, in degree, of material and immaterial essence ,-■ hence 
it is the 'perfection of matter and the individuality of spirit. Mind r 
then, is the highest state of refinement to which matter is- suscep- 
tible of being wrought — the perfection — epitome — result of crea- 
tion, on which sits enthroned REASON. From this Mgh emi- 
nence of mental and spiritual intercourse, the mind sweeps over 
the material universe, attracting to itself Truth and repelling 
Error, analyzing matter, reducing compound natural law r giving, 
cause to effect, design to cause, and Divinity to design. Inasmuch 
as the five external senses are the medium of conveying impres- 
sions from the external world to the mind, so, also, is- a sympa- 
thetic nervous fluid the medium of conveying impressions- from the 
internal or spiritual world to the mind, coming before the attri- 
bute of Reason like evidence before a judge, where it is arranged, 
condensed, decided on, and passed over to will for execution. As 
the mind wills, so the body acts. Consequently, internal impres- 
sions or thoughts are manifested by external signs. Havmg now 
shown Man to have been the design and result of creation ' r the 
union of matter with spirit ; the operation of mind on matter, and 
the supremacy of Reason, we will now pass down through the great 
chain of existences to "chaotic" matter, and we find, from the 1 
highest Caucasian intellect and the most purely developed men- 
tality, a uniform grade of animate existences, one above the other, 
according to the fineness of physical structure, each revolving in 
its peculiar sphere, and each reigning supreme over all inferior 
creation. 

Now to the laws that govern : We can conceive of the existence 
of matter in an eternal state, but it is impossible to conceive of* 
its creation out of nothing, for Deity himself is something, and if 
it emanated from him, it must have existed with him, therefore the 
" beginning was the word, which was God." The word was the 
Law, which " He spake, and it stood fast." After having rea- 
soned with himself and determined to bring about a result that 
should glorify himself, he institutes, or establishes, Law, under 
which he passes " chaotic" matter. Law is limit, both simple and 
compound, and the " beginning " was when chaotic matter became 
subject to Law, and limited by a sphere ; hence all law, all mo- 
tion, is spherical. Motion was the result of Law ; change of par- 
ticles the result of motion ; globular forms the result of the sphere. 
The organic laws are simple, being two, a positive and a negative, 
attracting and repelling each other; crude, "chaotic" matter 
now being subject to Law, became thoroughly imbued with it, 
every particle partaking of the nature of the law. becoming either 
positive or negative, acquiring polarity, and is attracted or repelled 
by one or the other of the two laws that may inhere in it. Law 







induces motion ; motion induces change ; change induces forms} 
having an affinity of particles ; forms induce concentration ; con- 
centration induces instinct; instinct induces intellect; intellect 
induces mind ; mind induces spirit ; spirit induces God, in whose 
attributes it will ever unfold in capacity to enjoy, never compre- 
hending Him. 

We have already shown that a law or force gravitating to the 
-centre of all bodies does not exist and in treating of a body that 
should fly off from this planet reaching a point in space where it 
can neither ascend, descend, or revolve on a plane, will further 
show the impossibility of such a law, such an effect. " The world 
was without form and void." This passage of the Mosaic record 
clearly shows " chaos " to have been an unshapen mass of molten 
matter, until it passed under organic law ; as soon as it became 
subject to law, attraction and repulsion induced transition of par- 
ticles, and the mass became instinct with motion ! Motion marked 
its orbit, it revolved on its axis, and the " evening and the morn- 
ing were the first day." The planet, for it has now assumed 
globular form, is encased in a dense volume of vapor, for the watery 
element at this time must have existed in vapor, while the solids 
seek adjustment by affinity of particles, attracting and repelling 
each other, until adjusted by and according to law. At this stage 
the commotion of elements must have surpassed conception. The 
negative force inheres in the planet, the positive inheres in the 
sun, consequently the earth is attracted by the sun, until its at- 
traction is overcome by repulsion, when the planet again flies off 
from the sun, revolving in a sphere on a plane. The sun being 
positive, attracts all bodies to itself, and were it not for the nega^ 
tive inherent force of the planets, would absorb them ; but, re- 
pulsion overcoming attraction, it can only retain them within its 
influence, each revolving in a sphere or an ellipse, according to its 
volume and negative inherent force. A sun and all planets re- 
volving within its influence is a solar system, which also revolve 
in a sphere as a whole, so that no planet or system ever revolves 
twice in precisely the same sphere, but all revolve in harmony and 
unison with each other ; hence the " music of the spheres." Where, 
now, is the law gravitating to the centre of all bodies ? True, 
movable bodies are retained on the surface of the planet, not by 
gravitation, but by atmospheric pressure induced by electrism ! 
consequently no body can fly off from its surface,, and if it could, 
it would revolve in a sphere on a plane, according to its volume 
and negative inherent force, which shows that there is no point in 
space where matter can become stationary, so long as it is subject 
to organic law. Destroy the negative law, and all planets will 
rush into the suns and be consumed by those vast luminaries ; the 
suns rush into each other, until the whole " univers(ELUM " be- 



43 

comes one vast conflagration. Destroy the positive law, and the 
suns will cool and break in shattered fragments ; darkness brood 
over the infinitude of space ; the very essence of Deity himself 
will chill — congeal — and mad, impulsive, unrestrained organic law 
will hurl the "vestiges of creation" fierce through space, break- 
ing, bursting, desolating, until matter shall be destroyed, force 
exhausted, and hope, love, beauty, swallowed up in the oblivion of 
the universal wreck of worlds ! A catastrophe so repulsive to the 
human mind cannot happen, for Divine law is not only infinite in 
application, but infinite in duration. Hope; even beams from the 
shadows of despair. Love ; smiles amid the faded flowers. Beauty ; 
lingers on the brow of sorrow. Truth ; leads us to the portals of 
light, life, and immortality ; glory be to Him who sitteth on the 
Throne and reigneth for ever and ever ; amen. 

Respectfully, CITETUS. 

January 15, 1854. 



THE COMETS. 

WASHINGTON, May 1, 1857. 

To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Gentlemen: There is a divinity within the human soul that 
moves man onward to noble deeds ; it inspires with hope, and bids 
him live. It was this divinity that inspired those illustrious bene- 
factors of our race whose names are handed down to us as memen- 
toes of the past, and which serve as beacon-lights to guide us in- 
our onward march of progress. 

Fron the days of Aristotle to the present time, philosophy and 
science have moved forward with a steady and unfaltering step,, 
joined hand and hand, wedded together for all time to come. 
Philosophy called men from their isolated solitude and nomadic 
forms of life to that higher and more exalted sphere of associa- 
tion, and congregated them into communities, cities, states, and 
nations ; instituting government, and giving laws that should guide 
their reason, govern their actions, and distinguish them from the 
lower order of creation. Science mounted his prancing steed and 
marshaled his eccentric few to battle against the superstitions of 
the Old World ; he unfurled a banner to the gaze of men on which 
"was inscribed, Test shall establish the Truth. From this the brave 
took courage, and Galileo, a philosopher, in opposition to the es- 
tablished theories of past ages and in defiance of inhuman perse- 
cution, proclaimed to men, "The earth revolves upon its axis !" 
Harvey also declared, "The blood circulates through the veins ;" 
Sir Isaac Newton discovered what he termed "the law of gravita- 
tion, or a force tending to the centre of all bodies ;" Columbus 



44 

discovered a New World ; Faust discovered the art of printing ; 
Fulton discovered the art of applying steam to locomotion ; Frank- 
lin caught the electric spark, and Morse made it telegraph. 

Thus we see, while philosophy has humanized, nationalized, and 
Christianized a very large portion of the human race, science has 
unfolded the laws that govern all organic and inorganic forms, 
which enables man at the present day to understand all the varied 
phenomena of nature. 

Now, we will endeavor to illustrate, briefly, the rotary move- 
ment of solar bodies, and show the impossibility of a collision of 
our earth with a Comet. 

The sun is the centre of our solar system, which has thrown off 
from itself the planets that revolve around it, whose atmosphere 
extends to the farthest verge of the orbit of a yet undiscovered 
planet, and whose rays vivify and impart life to all material forms. 
The positive organic law of matter inheres in the sun, and is mag- 
netism or heat ; the negative organic law of matter inheres in the 
planets, and is electricity or cold ; consequently, attraction and 
repulsion become the manifest mediums of motion, which, when 
the sun's attraction is overcome by the planet's repulsive force, 
the planet shoots past him with accelerated motion, lessening in 
velocity, however, till the negative is again overcome by the pos- 
itive, and the planet moves gradually towards the sun again, thus 
revolving in an ellipse, on a plane, forming a variable spherical 
movement. Therefore, all the planets are held in their orbits by 
the attractive influence of the sun, all are carried with that lumi- 
nary, because they are of it and are within its atmosphere, thus 
constituting one body of dense and rare proportions, revolving 
around some other mighty and unimaginable centre. 

It is now manifest that matter has but two conditions, namely, 
dense and rare ; and that motion is its actuating principle. 

A comet is a negative body, a planet in embryo, whose nucleus 
is formed by the condensation of particles having an affinity for 
each other, which particles are gathered from the suns through 
whose atmosphere it passes, increasing in volume and density as 
it traverses space in an undefined sphere, until its dimensions de- 
termine its orbit, when it wheels into line and assumes position 
among the stars that stud the vault of heaven. While in the em- 
bryo state its electric envelope becomes luminous, constituting the 
"tail" that always follows the nebula as it approaches the sun, 
and always precedes or partially precedes it when receding from 
the sun ; thus showing conclusively that the comet is both at- 
tracted and repelled by the sun, as, for instance, when it has 
reached its perihelion and shoots past or commences to recede from 
that luminary, its "tail" or volume of electric vapor is thrown 
back upon itself by the repulsive force of the sun, entirely envelop- 



45 

ing the nebula and forcing at leasr a portion of its former " tail " in 
advance of it. Now, while it is flying apparently at random through 
the solar system, may it not come in contact with a planet ? No ; 
such an effect is equally impossible, inasmuch a> the luminous at- 
mosphere of the comet contains a greater amount of heat than the 
planets ; it will, when within a certain distanc , be repelled by 
every planet, shooting past them, though not without disturbing 
their electrical envelopes. The electric pulsations of our own 
planet, as well as the volume of electricity enveloping a comet may 
be determined by mechanical experiment. The appearance of two 
small comets in the northwest heavens in March and May of the 
present year is evidence to mv mind that the earth's electric equi- 
librium is now disturbed, causing the unusually cold weather and 
backwardness of the spring, which will continue till the comets 
have passed by and the equilibrium is re-established ; but that 
either will come in contact with the earth in June, or at any other 
period, is highly improbable, unless, indeed, the positive or nega- 
tive inherent law of matter be first destroyed. This will be tanta- 
mount to the annihilation of Deity himself. 

In another communication I will explain the cause of atmos- 
pheric temperature, the " signs," and show that the moon is simply 
the earth's barometer: that electric variations affect the tides, 
vegetation, and health. 

Yours, very truly, CITETUS. 



THE MOON BAROMETER TO THE EARTH. 

WASHINGTON, May 13, 1857. 

To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Genthemen : Having previously shown that forms are the only 
tangible evidences of creation, explained the origin of comets and 
the rotary movements of planets, we will now attempt to show that 
the moon is simply the indicator of the earth's electric changes, 
and that the moon itself has no appreciable effect upon this planet. 

The moon is a fragment of the earth, is negative to it, and re- 
volves upon its own axis within the earth's atmosphere. 

The earth is enveloped in an ocean of electric vapor, dense an 3 
compound upon its solid surface, whose gases separate, however, 
as they deepen outward, the rare always emanating from aad rest- 
ing on the more dense, until we reach in outward order fiourine, 
electricity, and magnetism, that subtle element pervading all space. 
Observing the various atmospheric strata above and the solid strata 
below us, it is not difficult to perceive that men, animals, and veg- 
etable forms are existing in the centre of the earth's stratification. 



46 

The electric lines of no variation are those extending from the 
north to the south pole : the dia magnetic or dia electric lines are 
those extending around the earth from west to east, and are ever 
variable. It is the variableness of these dia electric currents that 
produce all the phenomena attributed to the influence of the moon 
upon the earth. "The moon runs high and is a sign of cold 
weather." This common popular phrase may be rendered thus : 
the moon is simply attracted by the earth's electricity towards the 
north pole, " runs high," and is said to be the cause of cold, storm, 
wind, &c, whereas, on the contrary, it is the great volume of elec- 
tricity intervening between us and it, (the moon,) intercepting the 
heat of the sun's rays, producing cold, storm, wind, and a silvery 
gray atmosphere. " The moon runs low and is a sign of warm 
weather;" which popular phrase may be rendered thus: the moon 
is attracted by the earth's electricity towards the south pole, " runs 
low," and is a true barometric sign of warm weather, not from the 
effect of the moon upon the earth, however, but from a retroces- 
sion of the dia electric currents towards the north pole, leaving 
the sun's rays free to impart heat, softening and mellowing the 
atmosphere into Italian summer skies. 

All changes in atmospheric temperature are caused by the va- 
riations of the dia electric currents, as well as all "signs" of 
storm, wind, calm, heat, cold, aurora borealis, and meteoric phe- 
nomena — the abundant shower and the refreshing dew. These 
electric variations sensibly affect vegetation, augment and diminish 
the flow of vital fluid, by infusing, under one set of circumstances, 
a greater amount of electric or negative fluid into all vegetable 
forms, and under another set of circumstances infusing a greater 
amount of positive fluid into the same forms, which renders it 
highly probable that the health of animals as well as persons is 
affected by those who partake of them. Thus we may safely ar- 
rive at a solution of the problem, the origin of disease, and, having 
ascertained the cause, may we not reasonably look for a remedy 
in the appliances of electric agents ? 

Disease may be resolved into two classes, namely, positive and 
negative. All fevers being positive, and all colds or chronics being 
negative, they should be treated accordingly. 

" The Moon affects the tides." 
When mind meets mind, then comes the test of strength. , 

Now, in contradiction to the established and popular theory that 
the moon affects the tides, I propose to show that they are the 
effects of the rotary and pendulum-like movement of the earth it- 
self ; as, for instance, when the earth is in a certain position upon 
its axis, the ocean masses flow back upon uniform currents, causing 
an ebb tide at a particular point, and during six hours the earth 



47 

turns one-fourth upon its axis, causing a flow tide to commence at 
the first point, and an ebb tide to commence at a second point, thus 
onward around the earth, the tides varying according to time and 
the relative position of the planet upon its axis, all of which facts 
may be demonstrated by taking observations at different localities 
throughout the world, noting the time and duration of tides, the 
inclination of the earth, and its position upon its axis. 

Wind is a current of dense or cold atmosphere propelled by 
electricity, always flowing in uniform surface currents from the 
poles towards the equator, where it rarifies by the heat of the sun's 
rays, ascends, and flows back in an elevated strata to either pole 
again. 

These elevated strata of heated atmosphere flowing uniformly 
.from the equator to the poles may reasonably account for open 
seas in those localities, or temperate zones developing an ad- 
vanced state of vegetation. 

Cross or counter currents of wind are dense or cold volumes of 
atmosphere propelled by electricity, arising from the surface of 
large bodies of water, elevated portions of land, mountain sum- 
mits, and snow-capped peaks, rushing forward to equalize the tem- 
perature of valleys, plains, and equatorial regions, rarified and 
expanded by the heat of the sun's rays. This law of equilibrium, 
everywhere manifest in nature, demonstrates beyond refutation 
that the laws of attraction and repulsion are the positive and neg- 
ative laws governing and developing all organic forms. Nowhere 
in art are these laws more beautifully illustrated than in the appli- 
cation of steam as a motive power. Water is the cold or negative 
element, and fuel the positive, each containing in prescribed limits 
their respective force in concentrated form, and, being placed in 
juxtaposition to each other, the fuel is ignited, decomposing its 
mass, and generating heat or the positive force, which infuses it- 
self into the watery element, repelling the electricity or negative 
force inherent in the water, which seeks to escape from confine- 
ment, carrying with it particles of moisture, thus generating what 
is popularly called "the motive power of steam." Here the posi- 
tive repels the negative, manifesting motion while under restraint, 
but so soon as set free the equilibrium is restored by each revert- 
ing immediately into those concentrated forms or substances for 
which they have an affinity. 

The same laws hold good in the physical organism of animal 
and human forms, the positive or magnetic law of heat having its 
seat in the cerebrum, and the negative or animal electric law 
having its seat in the cerebellum ; the first existing in and operat- 
ing on the sympathetic nerves, and the second existing in and op- 
erating on the muscular nerves, expanding and contracting the 
muscles in obedience to the dictates of the will. Thus are all 



48 

human actions performed, which are simply the external manifes- 
tations of the spiritual Being within. 

Having now partially redeemed my promise hj barely touching 
upon great subjects, I submit the foregoing suggestions in brief to 
an impartial puhlic, not claiming for them absolute perfection, but 
as approaching nearer the truth than the old theories,' and emi- 
nently worthy a candid consideration. 

Very truly, yours, CITETUS. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, May 23, 1857. 

J. M. Peck, Esq., Rockspring, Illinois : 

Dear Sir : By the politeness of a very highly distinguished 
friend and gentleman, the Missouri Republican of the 3d of May, 
containing a letter from your pen has this moment been handed 
me for perusal. 

An extract from a private letter published by me in the Na- 
tional Intelligencer of April 17, 1857, is made the basis of your 
communication. 

I am happy to have it in my power to refer your attempted 
quotations from my note back to you for correction^ as I never ad- 
vanced such ideas as you force me give utterance to, nor does your 
argument touch the new theories suggested in my note, or assign 
a cause for the "local causes " set forth in your dissertation on 
"storms." 

You must have observed ere this, that the note from which you 
attempted to quote, was published for the purpose of drawing out 
the communications that followed, and are now to be found in the 
National Intelligencer of May 1st, 11th, and 21st, over the signa- 
ture of "Citetus." 

It affords me pleasure to refer you to those articles, and recom- 
mend a careful perusal of them, after which I shall be most happy 
to receive your opinion of their merits, either p'rivate or through 
the public press. Very truly yours, CITETUS. 

(GEORGE B. SIMPSON.) 

P. S. — 3Iessrs. Editors Republican: Gentlemen: Should you 
decline publishing this note, do me the favor to forward it to Mr. 
Peck, and oblige, yours, &c, G. B. S. 



ULTIMATES. 

LIFE. 

The great object of life is to learn hoiv to live. 
Death can have no terrors if we live rightly. 



49 



TIME. 



What is time ? Moments measured by a dial. Are not thes° 
moments atomic periods of the great eternity ? Are they not pe- 
riods of the eternity in which Adam lives? Where is Adam? 
Certainly not here^ but in eternity. Is eternity, then, separate 
and distinct from time ; or, are these terms synonymous, distin- 
guished only by a state of Being ? If this be true, then we should 
speak of the condition, not the fact, as in time and in eternity, 
for, if time signify eternity, why, then, whatever term we apply 
can only refer to the state and not the period of duration. Thus 
we live in eternity, and have only to change our condition to be 
with Adam. 

Belief. 

What is belief? Simply an opinion of something which may 
and may not be true. 

The present is all man ever enjoys. 

Free thought and unrestricted research is the province of ra- 
tional minds. 

Childhood's sports, manhood's plays, 
Improve our morals, mend our ways. 

To be, or change and be, for man is and is to be. 

VIRTUE. 

What is virtue ? It is the crucifiction of the animal or worldly 
appetites, passions, and desires in man ; for, if these are not to be 
subdued, cut up by the roots, and entirely eradicated from the 
human heart by the exercise of Reason and fortitude, why, then, 
there can be no virtue in overcoming ; 

This is that precept of Appollo : u Know thyself." 

Love is a divine attribute of God within us. 

There is no darkness only in the mind of man where ignorance 
dwells. What a commentary on the Christian Era ? 

Life is the chrysalis state of man ; death (so called) the bloom- 
ing of the spirit. 

The good are always happy. 

So let me live as that my retrospect shall gather no regrets from 
my memory. 

Memory is the Record of our deeds, which is the " Book v that 
will be " opened '' and read — by whom ? By him who has a right 
to judge and award judgment — Thyself. 

We can meditate no wrong, do no wrong whose wound is not 
inflicted on our own memory ! Alas, can the blood of Calvery 
efface the evil thought, the evil deed ? Trust it not, but keep the 
memory free. 



50 



DEATH. 



What is death ? It is simply the separation of the positive from 
the negative, or the internal from the external Form ; literally, 
there is no death ; nothing dies, ever ! Simply, composition, de- 
composition, and ^composition; this is the whole round and/or- 
inula of Nature, therefore forms were all that were ever created, 
Xew forms are incessantly springing into Being, exemplifying the 
life-creative principle inherent in matter, which is the "life" and 
the "word," which "was God." 

HEAT. 

All heat is generated by abrasion. Solar heat is evolved by the 
friction of the sun's rays upon the atmosphere. Artificial heat is 
evolved by the friction of dissolving substances ; and the passage 
of currents of electricity over dense metals, such as platina wire, 
&c, &c, even to fusion and dissolution. 

COLD. 

Heat and cold are simply positive and negative electricity. Sub- 
stances are simply concentrated forms of electricity, all of which 
forms, when dissolved, revert to electric force, or first principles, 
and are ever active, exemplifying the life of matter. 

PROSPERITY. 

Be just and love Woman, and all other good things will be added 
unto you. 



WASHINGTON, D. C, June 20, 1859. 



GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



ELECTRIC HEAT AND MOTIVE POWER. 

WASHINGTON, September 27, 1859. 
To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Gentlemen : On the 20th instant a patent issued to the under- 
signed for an apparatus for generating heat by electricity. This 
is the first step towards the attainment of a great end, namely, 
the development of light* heat, and motive power by electricity, 
and its successful application to the uses of man. The generation 
of light and heat by electricity in diminutive quantities and under 
peculiar circumstances is not new, but the mode of controling and 
applying it to the ordinary uses of life is new and has been patented. 

The Electro Heater is somewhat costly in its construction, 
but when once put into practical operation its primary value never 
diminishes, the wear and tear of the apparatus is merely nominal, 



r aml the expense of generating heat sufficient to warm and cook for 
an ordinary family and house will not exceed ten dollars per iftnr. 
Chimneys, fire-places, coal and wood stoves may all be abandoned; 
and indeed the Electro Heater may be placed in a parlor in any 
desired form or in any piece of elegant furniture, and cooking 
may there be performed with impunity without ashes, dust, or 
smoke ; and for warming purposes it may fee similarly situated 
with like results. 

The heating surface may be of any required dimensions, from 
which surface heat is obtained by passing currents of electricity 
over a platinum helical electrode, The only labor required to 
operate the Heater is simply the connecting and disconnecting of 
the electric current by touching a key like the key of a piano. By 
connecting the electric current the helical electrode is immediately 
reduced to a red or a white red heat, which rarifies and expands 
the air in contact with it, causing it to ascend, producing thereby 
a comparative vacuum, into which vacuum the cold air in a room 
is immediately impelled, which, in its turn, is heated or rarifiel 
and ascends, thus creating a current of air sweeping over the sur- 
face of the Heater, which will continue, if no air is permitted to 
escape from the room and no cold to enter, until the mass is in 
equilibrium^ or is of the same temperature as the Heater. Thus 
it will be perceived that the saving of heat by this process is about 
as 100 is to 1 — that is to say, by the ordinary process of generat- 
ing heat by the decomposition of wood and coal and the conse- 
quent creation of an ascending current of rarified air, 100 parts 
of the heat thus generated passes up and out at the top of the 
chimney into the common air, while by the new electrical process 
one p&rt will not thus escape ; therefore a great saving of heat as 
well as money in generating it is obtained. 

By touching the key and disconnecting the electric current the 
Heater immediately cools. 

Your obedient servant, GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



[Correspondence ef the Decatur Weekly Magnet.] 

BECATUR, Illinois, Saturday Morning, October 8, 1859. 
Mr. George B. Simpson has just taken out a patent for an in- 
strument to supply heat and motive power by electricity. He 
calls it the "Electro Heater," and claims that the saving by it will 
be as one hundred to one. The construction of the apparatus will 
be rather costly, but will render chimneys, fire-pipes, and wood or 
coal stoves totally unnecessary. It may be placed in any part of 
a room, ad libitum, and can be made as an elegant piece of fur- 
niture. The cost of cooking and warming by it, for an ordinary 



52 

Mzed family, he estimates at about ten dollars per annum. There 
is no labor about the apparatus, as the heat is let on or stopped 
oft' at pleasure, by merely touching a key like the key of a piano. 



Proposals tor the New Atlantic Cable. — New York, August 19, 1859.— 
The Atlantic Telegraph Company have issued an invitation to inventors, patentee?, 
and manufacturers of submarine cables, to come forward as soon as possible with 
specimens and plans of cables suitable for ocean service, to be submitted to the 
Company for examination, testing, and experiment. 

The invitation extends to all persons engaged in business, in whatever country 
residing ; the object being to get the very best cable that can be produced. All 
communications to be addressed to the Secretary of the Company, George Saward, 
'22 Old Broad Street, London. 

WASHINGTON, D. C, September 10, 18-59. 

George Saward, Esq., 

22 Old Broad Street, London, England : 

Sir: Mind, matter, and Motion, are the elementary principles 
of all conceivable effects. Intelligence supreme, Matter divisible 
and indestructible, Motion infinite in duration and infinite in ap- 
plication. 

These three primary essences constitute the G«d-head, of which 
the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are typical. They are in sub- 
stance One, performing three distinct offices in the order named ; 
Intelligence to conceive and direct, Matter to form and transform, 
and Motion to transfer the will and the particle in obedience to 
the dictates of the infinite and rightly exalted Supreme Reason. 
This trinity of essences, substances, forces, exist in and constitute 
every part and particle of the whole material universe. They are 
of, in, and unto the great original first cause. They are God, and 
all effects are but the expression of His will. 

All forms, whether gross or refined, animate or inanimate, are 
first conceived, then organized by the concentration of particles 
having an affinity of soceal qualities, being transferred by the 
power of motion. The existence of this trinity of essences and 
forces may be demonstrated by the analysis of any conceivable 
material form. 

In the human kingdom they may be designated by the terms 
Mind, Matter, and Magnetism ; in the animal kingdom they may 
be designated by the terms Instinct, Matter, and Animal Elec- 
tricity; in the vegetable kingdom they are Solid, Fluid, and Elec- 
tric ; in the inorganic substances they are Solid, Liquid, and Aire- 
form ; the vital forces are everywhere the same, being modified in 
all cases to conform to the gross or refined unfolded and unfolding 
forms. From these deductions we find that Electricity is probably 
the third elementary principle of the God-head, that its attributes 
aro Beatic, and that it permeates all substances ; as such we must 



consider it if we wouH arrive at a satisfactory solution of ths 
problem, or a rational understanding of its effects. 

Electricity, then, may be regarded as one of the elementary 
principles of primary substar.ees, and is, perhaps, too sublimated 
to be perceived by the human mind ; its effects* however, may be 
observed and considered. There is, there can be no effect in Na- 
ture not dependant on and immediately traceable to electricity ; 
it is the motive power of all organic and inorganic as well as all 
animate and inanimate forms; it holds the planets in their spheres, 
warms the earth's atmosphere by friction upon its particles, is the 
subtle fluid existing in the human brain, and moves the strong 
volume of a muscle; it is, in a word, all that is possible for the 
human mind to knew, far transcending the sublimest thought, the 
most vivid imagination, the loftiest conception. 

It is too universal to be easily understood — its application to the 
uses and comforts of man is the subject which challenges our in- 
vestigation at the present time. How shall it be concentrated ? 
How controled? How applied? These are questions requiring 
practical answers, and I venture with becoming modesty to offer 
such suggestions as have occurred to my mind. 

For more than twenty years I have been a student and a close 
observer of the phenomena of Nature. I was seven years endeav- 
oring to insulate the telegraph wire, and, finally, on the 22d day 
of November, 1847, 1 discovered a process of insulation ; it was as 
follows : The wire was first insulated with India rubber or gutta 
percha, then covered with glass beads closely socketed and jointed 
together, over which was drawn an insoluble India rubber hose, 
which was fastened to the beads by being pressed into grooves by 
twining iron bands or hempen cords around them at convenient 
distances from each other, thus making a submarine telegraph 
cable at once flexible and convenient, and perfect in all its prac- 
tical tests and applications. I have since abandoned the external 
hose and glass beads, retaining only the gutta percha as an insu- 
lator, and for which an application asking letters patent of the 
United States is still pending in our Patent Office. I hereby an- 
nounce to the world my claim to this invention, and warn all tel- 
egraph companies and others not to use it under penalty of the 
law. (This, of course, applies to America.) In my opinion, a 
single wire properly insulated with gutta percha will be more cer- 
tain of success than a combination of wires in laying a cable across 
the Atlantic ocean — the feasibility of which was suggested by me 
as early as 1847. 

In connection with this subject, I may suggest that I think it 
highly probable that a gutta percha tube one and a half inch in 
diameter and one half or three quarter inch bore, filled with water, 
will prove the cheapest and most effective submarine telegraph 



54 

table. Water is quite as good a conductor of electricity as metal, 
and it is possible that a tube thus filled with fresh water will sink 
in the ocean salt water to a depth only of its own specific density. 
This will avoid the possibility of a break in the water or electric 
current, (as is supposed by some to be the case with the wire cable 
recently laid,) and form, by connecting links, a network of ocean 
telegraph which will unite every portion of the habitable globe, 
sind concentrate, in accordance with my suggestion of 1847, the 
intelligence of the world in one common centre — at a given point. 

I may venture another suggestion, which, if acted on, may prove 
of service to mankind. An air tube, sunk in the ocean like the 
water tube above named, may serve as a speaking-trumpet, through 
which oral messages may be communicated with equal facility and 
greater certainty than the electric current. 

I have other inventions in electricity of great value and import- 
ance to the world, but it might be considered out of place to enu- 
merate them here. 

Hoping the suggestions I have made may be of interest to you, 
and wishing you entire success in the great enterprise of laying 
the Atlantic cable, and begging you to accept my kind regards, 

I remain, sir, very respectfully, your obedient servant, 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



THE MAMMOTH BALLOON. 

To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

Gentlemen : In 1856 I published my views on aerial currents 
prevailing on the west coast of America and the Pacific ocean, and 
in May, 1857, I published in your valuable journal mv views on 
uniform and counter wind currents in all parts of the world, and 
showed, I think, that they are all impelled by the motive power 
of electricity. However this may be, it is not now the point under 
consideration, but the current which is to waft the great balloon 
from the shores of America to the shores of England. 

\t is highly probable that all the great uniform wind currents 
of the world are directed in their course by the great ocean cur- 
rents which flow beneath them. If this be true, then, if Professor 
Lowe will transfer his starting point from New York city to the 
Island of Cuba, and ascend in the aerial current indicated by the 
Gulf Stream, he may pass the eastern coast of the northern half 
of this continent and reach England within the time indicated in 
his programme. Again, if he ascend at New York city in a cur- 
rent flowing from west to east, he may reach the great ocean cur- 
rent indicated by the Gulf Stream, and thus achieve the object of 
iiis experiment. Currents counter to the great uniform wind cur- 



55 



rents in all parts of the world are alike subject to the electrical 
conditions of the atmosphere. 

Your obedient servant, GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

WASHINGTON, D. C, November 15, 1-859. 



Rkappbakanck of the Rings of Saturn. — On Tuesday, (to-day,) A ©gust 12, 
the Rings of Saturn will again be seen, having been wholly invisible, except through 
the most powerful telescopes, nearly three months. In the course of the last 
eight months tbe&e rings have twice disappeared, the first time from November 23 
to January 31, in consequence of their edge being turned towards the earth, and 
the second time, or since May 17, their unilluminated side. Through powerful 
telescopes the ring at the first disappearance could, however, be seea, as u straight 
line, and at the second the ansae or extremities were still visible. 

During those interesting periods the appearance of Saturn and its rings has 
been carefully watched by astronomers, and in a communication to tke London 
Astronomical Society, at its last meeting, that excellent observer, Rev. W. R. 
Dawe», says: " Nothing, I imagine, can more fully prove the almost inconceivable 
thinness &j the rings than the absence of all perceptible shadow. Had it even the 
least thickness which has ever been ascribed to it, {forty miles by Professor Bond, 
Director of Harvard College Observatory, Cambridge, United States,) it would be 
sufficient to produce a total eclipse of the sun on Saturn's equator, as it would 
subtend an angle more than double that subtended by the disk of the sun as seen 
from Saturn. 

For an explanation of the rings of Saturn, I respectfully beg 
leave to refer the reader to my letter addressed to Samuel L. Mor- 
ton, Esq., dated Cincinnati, Ohio, May 10, 1851, and published! 
for the first time in this series. 

If electrical, as I affirm, their apparent disappearance would 
simply indicate a change of position, in which position they, the- 
electric rings, so called, are incapable of refracting light. 

In illustration of this fact, I might instance the rain-bow; which,, 
when we are in* a certain position, appears bright and beautiful,, 
and when we are in a different position does not appear at all. 
• So with the aurora borealis ; under cirtain conditions of the at- 
mosphere this auroral light appears bright and beautiful, and under 
different conditions of the atmosphere the auroral light does not 
appear at all. 

So with the rings of Saturn ; when in a proper position they 
become visible to us, not from the tangibility of their substance, 
but from their ability electrically to refract light. 

The rings are, therefore, sufficiently tangible to appear lumin- 
ous to our sense of sight, but not to our sense of touch, unless, in- 
deed, we were to pass through them, in which event we would con- 
geal, as they exemplify the negative organic law inherent in all 
matter, which is cold y or electricity. 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

WASHINGTON, D. C, September, 1862. 



se 

A "Disappearance." — TliP discovery of the disappearance of one or two- 
nebula? in the heavens has excited the liveliest interest among astronomers. So 
unlooked-for a phenomenon fairly startles the hardest understanding. Objects 
hitherto regarded as firm, enduring, and fixed as the pillars ot the universe, 
have been found as unstable as an autumnal meteor. What great revolution in 
astronomy is about to be made no one can conjecture. The awful mystery only 
heightens on reflection; and vague, shadowy forebodings of the "rottenness of 
the pillared firmanent" crowd upon the imagination. — Boston Courier. 

If, as is alleged in this paragraph, certain nebulae have disap- 
peared from the heavens, it is not improbable that they may be 
obscured by the intervention of opaque bodies between us and them 
and not discernable by us, and will, therefore, reappear again when, 
those opaque bodies shall have passed. 

Have no fears of the u rottenness of the pillared firmament," 
as matter is indestructible, and change of form the law, immutable 
as God, and that anything that is cannot be destroyed, and there- 
fore must continue to be "regarded as firm, enduring, and fixed 
as the pillars of the universe." 

God and Nature is, and we shall continue to be, though changed 
it may be. 

Read these brief pages and be cheered w T ith the assurance that 
Nature is divine, truth is immortal, and that nothing but Error 
can perish. 

The existence of fear is the strongest evidence of error. 

"Where Truth is there is hope, light, life, and immortality. 

And when we know that matter is indestructible, and that forms 
only change, we also know that our interior Being cannot be an- 
nihilated, but that it must exist, if not in this state certainly in a 
better one, as no form can descend below its own development, but 
must ascend in the scale and order of creation. 

Therefore there can be no fear for the perpetuity of the un- 
verse "so long as Reason is left free to combat error." 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 

WASHINGTON, D. C, September, 1862. 



High o'er the crest of infant years may est thou soar, Man ; 

ascend the height of hoary ages, and on the dial of eternal time, 

write, Alpha ! 

GEORGE B. SIMPSON. 



iSSmTL 0F CONGRESS 













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